ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs veterans reported to training camp at Missouri Western University in St. Joseph Monday.

As they prepare for the 2022-23 NFL season, the Chiefs head office is looking ahead to 2026 and the World Cup.

“The World Cup puts Kansas City on a map it’s never been on before,” Mark Donovan, Chiefs President, said. “It is an international event that, it’s gonna be amazing when people see it. And we’re excited to be a part of it.”

GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium will be the site of some of those matches. It will need to have millions of dollars worth of upgrades before any 2026 World Cup matches are played.

The construction is something Donovan addressed on the first official day of training camp for the club.

“There are definitely some requirements and changes we need to make to make the pitch fit within the framework of the stadium which will involve some construction. It’s actually a two-year construction project,” Donovan said.

The pitch will have to be raised for the games, and it will also have to be widened.

Most of the construction won’t begin until the summer of 2025. At that point, the Chiefs said they’ve come up with a complicated process to make sure the upgrades are completed in time.

It also includes a plan so Chiefs fans aren’t limited for the 2025 season.

“We’ve mapped out a plan where we can actually do some of the work, put seats back in, take the seats back out, play the games, at the end of the games, put the seats back in,” Donovan said. “Our goal at this point is to make sure that every single seat is replaced for every single season, so not losing a single seat for football.”

There are still questions about who will pay for the upgrades, but the Chiefs said they are meeting with FIFA to finalize plans and the renovation process.

“It will be an enormous challenge for our operations and constructions crew, but one we will be up for,” Donovan said.