By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Western State University and the city of St. Joseph are already thinking about the return of Kansas City Chiefs training camp later this summer.
Missouri Western chief of staff Chris Dunn says the University is lucky to have a great partner in the city to make training camp a reality.
"Not every University is lucky and fortunate to have what Missouri Western has, being a good partner with St. Joe," Dunn said. "There are other communities in the state of Missouri that have a public, four-year institution where the city and county don't cooperate as well as we cooperate."
New St. Joseph mayor John Josendale told Dunn during a city council work session Monday that he'd like to see the city embrace Missouri Western and do more to promote what the school does in general.
Dunn says it's a great feeling to hear that come from city hall.
"I think it makes (University president) Dr. (Elizabeth) Kennedy feel great," Dunn said. "I think it makes the board of governors feel great. We love being welcomed here. Wherever we can connect with the city, and with its people, we want to do that."
The University is asking the city for $7500 to help with the expense of renting the bleachers for training camp. The total cost for renting the bleachers for the entirety of camp is somewhere around $100,000.
The Chiefs have come to St. Joseph for training camp since 2010. This marks the last year of the agreement with the Chiefs with two more optional years after that. Dunn says the city and university remain committed to keeping training camp in St. Joseph.
"Both the University and community have both said we'll do whatever we need to do to keep the Chiefs in St. Joe, we're committed to doing," he said. "They've stepped up and done that. The county has provided resources, the city and the university have provided resources."
Dunn says getting the new athletic director in place will be very helpful in not only planning for training camp this year, but in the years ahead.
"We need somebody who is up to speed and knows what they're doing and will be at the table for the University as we find out what the Chiefs need for the next training camp."
Andrew Carter was named the University's new athletic director last week and he'll be introduced this coming Monday. Former Missouri Western athletic director and former Chiefs employee Josh Looney was instrumental in negotiating a long-term deal with the team.
As for this year, Dunn says the school expects to hear more guidance from the Chiefs soon as it pertains to training camp for this summer.
"We anticipate hearing from them a little bit more after the draft," Dunn said. "In the meantime, we're hopeful that with CDC guidelines and the fact that COVID numbers aren't what they are a year ago, that it will create an opportunity for the public and autograph seekers to come back to camp."
Fans were able to attend training camp last year, though they were not allowed to interact with players and get autographs.
The exact future of training camp will be decided in time, but one thing is certain - Missouri Western and the city of St. Joseph are going to do what they can to keep camp right where it is.
"It's important from them to be here if they're going to be away from Kansas City," Dunn reiterated. "Knowing what the past is, I'm very confident in the future we'll find a way to work things out with the Chiefs, whatever they need."
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.