By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs have arrived at the Missouri Western State University campus in St. Joseph for training camp, and officials say this could be the biggest camp yet.
Chiefs president Mark Donovan revealed Friday during a press conference at Spratt Stadium that over 80,000 tickets for training camp have already been sold, with the first practice open to the public coming up on Sunday.
"We have a number of days that are sold out," Donovan said. "Our season ticket member days are sold out already. We're pretty focused on data. There's also a no-show rate every single day. So, we factor that into how many tickets are out there. But, this will probably be the most attended camp in our history."
The current attendance record for Chiefs training camp was set in 2019, when over 62,000 fans packed into Missouri Western to watch the eventual world champions come into form.
After the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in February 2020, their training camp that summer was confined to the team's practice facility in Kansas City due to COVID-19.
So, 2023 is the first time that the Chiefs will hold training camp in St. Joseph as the defending world champions.
"It is so exciting," said Missouri Western president Elizabeth Kennedy. "This is the year to see the world champions, the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. We are just thrilled and so fortunate to have them here and we look forward to hosting so many exciting fans."
Donovan says the road to another championship starts in St. Joseph, and he compliments the Missouri Western staff on their hard work to make the three-week event run smoothly.
"This is a critical period of time for our organization and for the success of our season," he said. "Without the cooperation, partnership and commitment of the entire staff - from the athletic department to the operations team - just dealing with day-to-day challenges to make sure our camp is as efficient as it possibly can be."
Donovan also credits the entire city of St. Joseph for the way they embrace camp each and every year.
"The citizens, fans, business community have been so welcoming and supportive," he said. "It really does feel like home when we come up here. We're excited to be here, and excited to have recently extended our partnership to be (at Missouri Western) this year and another year. It's going to be a great partnership for at least another year to come after this."
The Chiefs and Missouri Western announced a training camp contract extension this past spring, guaranteeing that camp will again be in St. Joseph in 2024.
While it's unknown what happens after that, Kennedy appreciates what Chiefs camp does for the University.
"We very much appreciate the opportunity the training camp provides us," Kennedy remarked. "It helps us showcase our beautiful University and beautiful city of St. Joseph. We also appreciate the opportunity to work with such a world class organization."
The first handful of Chiefs players began reporting to St. Joseph on Tuesday, and the first full team practice is Sunday at 9:15 a.m. That'll be the first of 19 practice sessions, with the final practice coming August 17.
Fans can get their training camp tickets and reserve parking at Chiefs.com/trainingcamp. Tickets must be bought online ahead of time.
Parking is $5 per vehicle. Most training camp practices are free to attend, except for July 23, July 29 and August 5. There will be a $5 admission fee on those dates.
World Cup talk
Kansas City is getting set to be one of 11 U.S. cities to host the 2026 World Cup. Preparations are well underway, and Arrowhead Stadium will be a focal point, with numerous matches being played there over the month-long event.
Donovan says the benefits and excitement of the World Cup go well beyond the Truman Sports Complex.
"When you look at the opportunity to host the World Cup, it'll be an economic driver that we've never seen as a region. Ever. It'll have long lasting international benefits for us as a city and a region."
As previously reported, Missouri Western has put in a bid to be a host and practice site for one of the teams participating in the World Cup.
Kennedy says the University should know more details on that in the coming months.
"We put the bid in and my understanding is we should hear (more) by December of this year," she said. "We're excited about that. Hosting a soccer team is not quite the same extent as hosting a football team. It'll be a different configuration, but with our expertise and experience, 13 years of hosting the Chiefs, we know a thing or two about hosting professional teams."
Future of Arrowhead Stadium
With the Kansas City Royals openly discussing plans to build a new stadium at a different site within the next five or so years, questions have come up about the future of GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Donovan said Friday that discussions with the Royals are ongoing, and all options are being considered, but renovating and maintaining the current stadium is the preference.
"If everything plays out the way we think it will, our preference for us is to upgrade and renovate the stadium at Arrowhead and make GEHA Field even better."
Donovan said the other options are to build a new stadium at the current site or build a new stadium at new site.
Arrowhead Stadium was completed in 1972. Kaufmann followed in 1973. The Chiefs and the Royals' lease at the Truman Sports Complex is valid through 2031.
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