The Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL) will be holding their annual preseason training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri between the dates of Thursday July 29, 2010 and Thursday August 19, 2010. After holding their annual training camp in River Falls, Wisconsin for many years this will be the inaugural training camp held in St. Joseph, Missouri.
The city of St. Joseph, Missouri has a population of about 75,000 people and is located approximately one hour north of Arrowhead Stadium where the Kansas City Chiefs play eight home football games a season. St. Joseph and by extension Kansas City are located in the northwestern portion of the state near the Kansas, Nebraska, and to a lesser extent the Iowa border. Kansas City, located on the Missouri River, is about a four hour drive on I-70 from St. Louis Missouri which is located on the east side of the state on the Mississippi river bordering Illinois.
The motivation for the Chiefs to move from River Falls, Wisconsin to St. Joseph, Missouri was is in part due to the closer proximity to loyal fans in the surrounding area. Whereas previous coaching staffs and team administrators had rationalized the Wisconsin location as a more secluded area where the team could perhaps better focus without as many distractions from fans crowding the area the current thought within the organization is that a training camp move closer to home will hopefully translate into a reinvigorated fan base after several losing seasons in which the team failed to make the playoffs.
The city of St. Joseph is anxious to host the event as it is expected to bring millions of dollars to the city through loyal fans coming from hours away to see their beloved organization up close and for the first time this season. St. Joseph mayor Bill Falkner has gone on record with the local St. Joseph News-Press stating that he believes the emergence of the Chiefs training camp will be a boost for local businesses. Among the area business expected to see the most immediate gains are restaurants, hotels, and retailers.
The Kansas City Chiefs will hold their training camp on the campus of Missouri Western State University (formerly Missouri Western State College) which is visible from Interstate-29. In anticipation of the Chiefs training camp Missouri Western has built a large indoor practice facility to accommodate the professional organization in case inclement weather like thunderstorms occurs. Missouri Western has its own Division-II football program which will benefit from being able to use the indoor football practice facility throughout the fall football season.
Jeff, the author of this article, has been a lifelong Chiefs fan and suggests fans looking for the Chiefs training camp schedule visit the blog that he contributes to at Kansas City Chiefs training camp
