By MATT PIKE
The Kansas City Chiefs announced that training camp will be back on the campus of Missouri Western State University for a 15th year this summer.
Missouri Western Athletic Director Andy Carter says the relationship with the Chiefs has been great, but the existing agreement ended after last year’s camp, and things have changed quite a bit since camp first came to the college
“They were great to work with, they were really good, really attentive, and it just kind of picked up a little steam as we started looking at things a little differently, both sides,” Carter tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “And I think this is a natural progression of what the future looks like, and I’m excited about it.”
Carter says since the camp announcement, he’s heard a lot of excitement about the Chiefs coming back for another year.
A failed capital improvement plan did cause some doubts about camp at Missouri Western.
House Bill 19, which the House Budget Committee chair did not even bring to a vote, contained $2.8 million that Carter says would have helped to offset the cost of training camp
Carter says it would have helped Missouri Western meet the needs of the Chiefs during Training Camp, without sacrificing the colleges mission of educating young people
“It gave everybody a little bit of a pause, but we quickly got right back in and dug through and figured out some ways that we could make this happen, and I feel good about where we are,” Carter explains. “And we have the ability to continue to have dialogue with them about what the future looks like and I think it looks really good.”
The Chiefs and Missouri Western agreed on a multi-year extension to keep training camp in St. Joseph, starting with the camp this summer.
Carter says it’s especially exciting for him to have the Chiefs in town because it feels like the kickoff to the fall sports season on campus
“To me fall on a college campus, that’s where it’s at, the energy level, the excitement level, all of that’s there,” Carter says. “And our fall sports are going to be really, really good this year and I’m excited about getting into the school year and having all that happen.”
The Chiefs hold their first practice on July 22nd for season ticket members, and the first open to the general public on July 23rd. The full team reports to St. Joseph July 20th.
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