Chiefs Hunt outlines changes the Chiefs are making to get the red back in Arrowhead - Page 4

**Tribal Warfare** · 04-13-2013, 06:47 PM

Chiefs owner outlines changes to get the red back in Arrowhead
By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star
Clark Hunt is sitting at a small table in his enormous suite at Arrowhead Stadium, hands in his lap, his voice steady and professional. But really, he may as well be standing in front of you all, arms outstretched, his words as sweet as he’s capable of making them sound:

Hug?

The Chiefs owner is here, talking to you, emphasizing a philosophy shift in the franchise he holds so dear. Hunt wants you to expect something very different from the Chiefs you came to know in recent years. Some of what he is doing sounds very cool for fans, some of it will help the team make more money. Some of it will do both.

Hunt knows it won’t mean much if the team doesn’t win, but while the new football men he hired work on that part, it’s significant that the man who took so much heat last year — taunting banners flying over the stadium, nasty name-calling, stacks of angry letters — is extending a hand.

“Certainly the football side of the Chiefs the last four years was more guarded in how information was shared externally,” he says. “There’s still teams in the league that operate like that, but what I’ve seen in the last 12 months, attending ownership meetings and being on the digital committee, is an understanding that, hey, the model is shifting and we have to be more open.”

Hunt is doing everything he can to make sure the hiring of coach Andy Reid and general manager John Dorsey is the end to a brutal four-year run marked by arrogance and detachment, bottoming out with a 2-14 thud last season that made Arrowhead quiet and fans wearing bags on their heads.

Hunt won’t blame the problems on anyone. He doesn’t bring up any names. But when Scott ***** was hired and given total football control four years ago, he brought a hyper-secretive and isolated style that — especially as the losses piled up — turned off many loyal fans.

But it was more than just losing that turned off many fans, so Hunt and club president Mark Donovan know that more than just winning is needed to bring them back. Consumers fans — have more power and more options than ever, so everyone lost with that old model. The Chiefs had empty seats, quiet or booing crowds, and fans who felt pushed away to prove it.

That’s not how the Chiefs became Kansas City’s passion. That’s not how they became a wildly profitable business.

Without a strong sense of connection, many fans drifted, and the Chiefs are now trying to woo them back with gifts and technology. The Chiefs were the first NFL team to use paperless tickets last year, and going forward, this is will be their vehicle of choice.

“Really, we want the experience with our fan base to be one where they’re an insider,” Hunt says. “Where they feel like an insider. Where they’re getting to see things, and hear things, and learn things that people generally don’t have an opportunity to do.”

The key to this is the season-ticketholder card the Chiefs created last year. Paperless tickets make it easier for fans to transfer seats or replace lost items. Now the club is adding a loyalty program that is part Foursquare, part frequent flier account and the first of its kind in the NFL.

The buzzword here is value. Part of winning back fans is to create more value in that card than mere admittance to the stadium. For instance, go to team events like next week’s draft party, and you’ll earn points. Show your card at various club sponsors and you’ll receive a discount. You get the idea.

Collect enough points and you can “buy” experiences that otherwise aren’t for sale, like pregame sideline passes or dinner with Reid.

The card is also important to the Chiefs, because they can gather data. Scanning those cards tells them all sorts of information — how early you arrive at the stadium, what you buy when you’re there, how often you attend club events during the week, etc.

You can look at this part in two ways. The Chiefs can use the information to maximize their profits (when and how to better staff the stadium, for instance) or to improve the efficiency of a fan’s game day experience. Both are true.

All NFL teams are working to bring fans into their stadiums instead of having them home on their couches. There are league-wide initiatives, like certain replays in the stadium that aren’t shown at home, and the Chiefs are working on other ways to enhance the stadium experience — cameras following players from their cars to the locker room, better cell phone reception, more fantasy football stats, etc.

This is all coming at a crucial time for the Chiefs. They still call Arrowhead “the loudest stadium in the NFL,” but that has been more of an outdated reminder of better times than an honest point of pride in recent years. They have fallen behind.

Again, the best way to change that is for the Chiefs to win. But fans have been disappointed by far more than losses in recent years. Heck, the Chiefs still haven’t won a playoff game since January 1994 so this isn’t a front-running fan base. Just one that wants to feel their love reciprocated.

The Chiefs think this is the way. They’re trying to replace the disconnect of the past four years with something closer to the party of the 1990s — and they’re doing it with the latest technology and a more open philosophy.

In other words, they want you back. And they’re changing to do it.

chiefzilla1501 · 04-14-2013, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefMojo

What Milkman and Hamas brought up is true. That fact falls on deaf ears on this board more time than not but the constant crying for Geno or other extreme negative thoughts are a vocal minority in the grand scheme of things when it comes to the Chiefs Kingdom.

Most Chiefs fans (true fans) want the feeling of being loved and interaction with the organization (which was completely lost with *****). They want the feeling of what they had in the 90's. Just being around .500 or a little better would fill Arrowhead back up to sell-out status. Clark knows this, he has seen the blue print for this fanbase.

I know that doesn't sit well at all with many on this board but that is just the way things are in KC. Most of the fanbase could give a rats what method of selection it took to get that QB to KC. Just win me some games, give me a great atmosphere, let us interact with the players (charity events and radio gigs) and make me feel loved is all they want.

This is a really good thing. The Chiefs need to start winning again and winning back the true fans. Much as we hate true fans, they keep Arrowhead packed and loud.

I don't care if they traded for Smith so they can start winning the fans back again. I only care if they settle for him, vs. a still relentless search for a QB. It also doesn't matter to me if they skip over Geno or a QB in round 1, but if they do, they damn well better be right.

**HemiEd** · 04-14-2013, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spott

Let's see, they brought in yet another in a long line of shitty backup QB's to save the franchise which everyone knows doesn't work. Unless they are lowering the exhorbitant ticket, parking and concession prices, I don't see any thing better for the fans.

yep

crossbow · 04-14-2013, 06:55 AM

Sorry Clark,

You traded for yet another dumbass QB from Frisco. You did this so many times that your fans have given up on your team. Your team is a joke and you overpaid the 49ers to get there. I can't take this mess seriously.

chiefzilla1501 · 04-14-2013, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crossbow

Sorry Clark,

You traded for yet another dumbass QB from Frisco. You did this so many times that your fans have given up on your team. Your team is a joke and you overpaid the 49ers to get there. I can't take this mess seriously.

I think you're assuming Chiefs Planet thinks the same way true fans do. True fans are the way to packing Arrowhead. Sad but true. True fans will support this team in droves when they start winning again and when the team opens up access to the fans again.

I hope, like all of us on CP do, that the team doesn't settle for that being good enough. I don't think Dorsey works that way.

crossbow · 04-14-2013, 07:20 AM

Given the huge price they paid for that slapdick, they are going to have to stand by this move even if it means they use a crowbar to force him on the fans. This is Grbac/Cassel all over again. You would think Clark would be smart enough to veto this idea. He has been through this before and knows it doesn't work.

Steron · 04-14-2013, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunKC

Clark has shown us how much he cares about this team the last 4 years.

Bringing in the best GM candidate on the market 4 years ago and now bringing in the best and most proven coaching candidate along with a highly touted GM once again shows he wants the best qualified people to run the franchise.

The QB situation has nothing to do with Clark.

+1

BlackHelicopters · 04-14-2013, 07:38 AM

Winning cures all.

whoman69 · 04-14-2013, 07:41 AM

I don't want platitudes while the organization throws out a strategy to get the team back to 8-8

Marcellus · 04-14-2013, 07:53 AM

I love it. The CP braintrust has concluded the Reid and Dorsey have no intention of winning a SB, all they are here to do is get to 8-8 and sell Clark tickets. Its not about winning to them is it? I mean hey its only their careers on the line right?

You all are basically once again saying Clark told them not to draft a QB because that is the only outlier in the new regime that has you guys crying and whining and Clark is the root case according to you all.

It couldn't be that this QB class sucks ass and Alex Smith is a stop gap until the QBOTF is found. I mean neither Reid or Dorsey have a history of drafting QB's right?

Clark has spent a boatload of money to get back to 8-8. That's a genius business model.

You guys are really really full of yourselves these days.

**Bugeater** · 04-14-2013, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcellus

I love it. The CP braintrust has concluded the Reid and Dorsey have no intention of winning a SB, all they are here to do is get to 8-8 and sell Clark tickets. Its not about winning to them is it? I mean hey its only their careers on the line right?

Their careers aren't on the line if they don't win a SB. However, their careers WILL be on the line if they can't at least go 8-8 and sell tickets.

Which do you think is going to be a priority with them?

chiefzilla1501 · 04-14-2013, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoman69

I don't want platitudes while the organization throws out a strategy to get the team back to 8-8

We haven't even had a draft yet. We are in the first few months of a new regime. We haven't seen if they actually think Alex Smith is a long-term answer. Given Reid and Dorsey's history, we will constantly bring in new young QBs to groom.

I am not at all endorsing anything they've done this offseason. But it's way too soon to freak out about it. They can build a team to win now while making great moves that make them long-term competitive within a few years.

ChiefMojo · 04-14-2013, 08:13 AM

Bingo but many are so damn narrow minded they just think of drafting a QB in the first round will solve all problems. Sure it would be great if there was a legit franchise QB to take at #1.

Marcellus · 04-14-2013, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Their careers aren't on the line if they don't win a SB. However, their careers WILL be on the line if they can't at least go 8-8 and sell tickets.

Which do you think is going to be a priority with them?

I think people have lost their ****ing minds is what I think.

There is a distinct difference between believing the moves the Chiefs are making will only get them to 8-8 and believing that that is their goal and everyone in the organization would be happy with that.

I have no issue with anyone believing that 8-8 or 9-7 is this teams ceiling with Alex Smith.

I think if you believe that's the plan and goal you are an idiot who thinks way too highly of your own opinion when it comes to football.

And that is what many people are claiming. Its ludicrous.

OrtonsPiercedTaint · 04-14-2013, 08:21 AM

Bring back the PRRRRRRRRRICE CHOPPER commercials. The Hy-Vee elevator music- ***** right 53 times sucked the penis.

Coogs · 04-14-2013, 08:22 AM

Just winning may not be enough. Team went 10-6 in 2010, and IIRC the place wasn't packed even late in the season with the playoffs on the line. And I don't believe that 10-6 season parlayed into a rush on people buying season tickets in 2011.

04-13-2013, 06:47 PM
Tribal Warfare The Boom Boom Room Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $922813	Hunt outlines changes the Chiefs are making to get the red back in Arrowhead Chiefs owner outlines changes to get the red back in Arrowhead By SAM MELLINGER The Kansas City Star Clark Hunt is sitting at a small table in his enormous suite at Arrowhead Stadium, hands in his lap, his voice steady and professional. But really, he may as well be standing in front of you all, arms outstretched, his words as sweet as he’s capable of making them sound: Hug? The Chiefs owner is here, talking to you, emphasizing a philosophy shift in the franchise he holds so dear. Hunt wants you to expect something very different from the Chiefs you came to know in recent years. Some of what he is doing sounds very cool for fans, some of it will help the team make more money. Some of it will do both. Hunt knows it won’t mean much if the team doesn’t win, but while the new football men he hired work on that part, it’s significant that the man who took so much heat last year — taunting banners flying over the stadium, nasty name-calling, stacks of angry letters — is extending a hand. “Certainly the football side of the Chiefs the last four years was more guarded in how information was shared externally,” he says. “There’s still teams in the league that operate like that, but what I’ve seen in the last 12 months, attending ownership meetings and being on the digital committee, is an understanding that, hey, the model is shifting and we have to be more open.” Hunt is doing everything he can to make sure the hiring of coach Andy Reid and general manager John Dorsey is the end to a brutal four-year run marked by arrogance and detachment, bottoming out with a 2-14 thud last season that made Arrowhead quiet and fans wearing bags on their heads. Hunt won’t blame the problems on anyone. He doesn’t bring up any names. But when Scott ***** was hired and given total football control four years ago, he brought a hyper-secretive and isolated style that — especially as the losses piled up — turned off many loyal fans. But it was more than just losing that turned off many fans, so Hunt and club president Mark Donovan know that more than just winning is needed to bring them back. Consumers fans — have more power and more options than ever, so everyone lost with that old model. The Chiefs had empty seats, quiet or booing crowds, and fans who felt pushed away to prove it. That’s not how the Chiefs became Kansas City’s passion. That’s not how they became a wildly profitable business. Without a strong sense of connection, many fans drifted, and the Chiefs are now trying to woo them back with gifts and technology. The Chiefs were the first NFL team to use paperless tickets last year, and going forward, this is will be their vehicle of choice. “Really, we want the experience with our fan base to be one where they’re an insider,” Hunt says. “Where they feel like an insider. Where they’re getting to see things, and hear things, and learn things that people generally don’t have an opportunity to do.” The key to this is the season-ticketholder card the Chiefs created last year. Paperless tickets make it easier for fans to transfer seats or replace lost items. Now the club is adding a loyalty program that is part Foursquare, part frequent flier account and the first of its kind in the NFL. The buzzword here is value. Part of winning back fans is to create more value in that card than mere admittance to the stadium. For instance, go to team events like next week’s draft party, and you’ll earn points. Show your card at various club sponsors and you’ll receive a discount. You get the idea. Collect enough points and you can “buy” experiences that otherwise aren’t for sale, like pregame sideline passes or dinner with Reid. The card is also important to the Chiefs, because they can gather data. Scanning those cards tells them all sorts of information — how early you arrive at the stadium, what you buy when you’re there, how often you attend club events during the week, etc. You can look at this part in two ways. The Chiefs can use the information to maximize their profits (when and how to better staff the stadium, for instance) or to improve the efficiency of a fan’s game day experience. Both are true. All NFL teams are working to bring fans into their stadiums instead of having them home on their couches. There are league-wide initiatives, like certain replays in the stadium that aren’t shown at home, and the Chiefs are working on other ways to enhance the stadium experience — cameras following players from their cars to the locker room, better cell phone reception, more fantasy football stats, etc. This is all coming at a crucial time for the Chiefs. They still call Arrowhead “the loudest stadium in the NFL,” but that has been more of an outdated reminder of better times than an honest point of pride in recent years. They have fallen behind. Again, the best way to change that is for the Chiefs to win. But fans have been disappointed by far more than losses in recent years. Heck, the Chiefs still haven’t won a playoff game since January 1994 so this isn’t a front-running fan base. Just one that wants to feel their love reciprocated. The Chiefs think this is the way. They’re trying to replace the disconnect of the past four years with something closer to the party of the 1990s — and they’re doing it with the latest technology and a more open philosophy. In other words, they want you back. And they’re changing to do it.
Posts: 42,061

04-14-2013, 06:55 AM	#48
crossbow King of Sarcasm Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: at home Casino cash: $10004900	Sorry Clark, You traded for yet another dumbass QB from Frisco. You did this so many times that your fans have given up on your team. Your team is a joke and you overpaid the 49ers to get there. I can't take this mess seriously. __________________ If the mind were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't.
Posts: 2,159

04-14-2013, 07:20 AM	#50
crossbow King of Sarcasm Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: at home Casino cash: $10004900	Given the huge price they paid for that slapdick, they are going to have to stand by this move even if it means they use a crowbar to force him on the fans. This is Grbac/Cassel all over again. You would think Clark would be smart enough to veto this idea. He has been through this before and knows it doesn't work.
Posts: 2,159

04-14-2013, 07:38 AM	#52
BlackHelicopters Spiraling down the Drain Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Dante's Ninth Circle Casino cash: $2720588	Winning cures all. __________________ "We're both part of the same hypocrisy, Senator, but never think it applies to my family." "Fredo. You are my brother, and I love you. But never take sides against the Family again. Ever." 2019 Adopt a Chief - Travis Kelce #87
Posts: 31,663

04-14-2013, 07:53 AM	#54
Marcellus Diablo Negro Join Date: Sep 2003 Casino cash: $3092662	I love it. The CP braintrust has concluded the Reid and Dorsey have no intention of winning a SB, all they are here to do is get to 8-8 and sell Clark tickets. Its not about winning to them is it? I mean hey its only their careers on the line right? You all are basically once again saying Clark told them not to draft a QB because that is the only outlier in the new regime that has you guys crying and whining and Clark is the root case according to you all. It couldn't be that this QB class sucks ass and Alex Smith is a stop gap until the QBOTF is found. I mean neither Reid or Dorsey have a history of drafting QB's right? Clark has spent a boatload of money to get back to 8-8. That's a genius business model. You guys are really really full of yourselves these days.
Posts: 69,210

04-14-2013, 08:13 AM	#57
ChiefMojo Happy, Happy, Happy!!! Join Date: Jan 2009 Casino cash: $10004935	Bingo but many are so damn narrow minded they just think of drafting a QB in the first round will solve all problems. Sure it would be great if there was a legit franchise QB to take at #1.
Posts: 2,283

04-14-2013, 08:21 AM	#59
OrtonsPiercedTaint MVP Join Date: Dec 2012 Casino cash: $10004980	Bring back the PRRRRRRRRRICE CHOPPER commercials. The Hy-Vee elevator music- ***** right 53 times sucked the penis.
Posts: 5,994

04-14-2013, 08:22 AM	#60
Coogs In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Northern Kansas Casino cash: $1614349	Just winning may not be enough. Team went 10-6 in 2010, and IIRC the place wasn't packed even late in the season with the playoffs on the line. And I don't believe that 10-6 season parlayed into a rush on people buying season tickets in 2011.
Posts: 21,609