By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp is coming up quick, and the city of St. Joseph is already rolling out the red carpet.
The St. Joseph Visitors Center has been handing out 'Welcome Chiefs' signs Wednesday, starting at 11 a.m. and going until 6 p.m. or until supplies run out.
The signs are free. Visitor Center employee Bill Alexander says they saw a large number of people come get their signs as soon as they became available.
"It started real busy at 11 with a line out across the parking lot," Alexander said. "It's just been a steady flow ever since."
The Visitor Center started with 1,400 signs, and were down to about 450 just before 2 p.m. Alexander says 500 signs were gone within the first hour.
There is a limit of two signs per person. Alexander says the bright red 'Welcome Chiefs' signs are a staple of training camp, and he believes they make the coaches and players feel welcome.
"I think (the Chiefs) are all glad to drive down the street and see all of the Chiefs signs out and the red shirts and everything in town," he said.
If there are any signs left over after 6 p.m. Wednesday, people can still stop by and pick them up at the Visitor Center until they're gone.
Later this month, the City of St. Joseph will host the 'Red Rally' in Civic Center Park to officially welcome the Chiefs to the city.
The Red Rally will be July 29th from 2-7 p.m. with live music, inflatables, food trucks and more.
Country music artist Blane Howard will take the stage at 4:45 p.m., followed by the voice of the Chiefs Mitch Holthus, KC Wolf, Chiefs cheerleaders and Rumble Drumline at 6 p.m.
The city will announce the headline entertainer for the Red Rally coming up this Friday. This marks the 12th year of Chiefs training camp in St. Joseph.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.