By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Western State University hopes to host the Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp again next year.
This 10th camp which just concluded saw record numbers of fans turn out.
Missouri Western reports approximately 63,000 fans attended the camp in St. Joseph, shattering the old record of 55,000 set in 2010.
Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid praises Missouri Western.
“I love what they do for us here,” Reid tells reporters. “I mean it’s phenomenal. All the way from the guys that take care of the field and the security people, the people that cook for us, the people that clean the dorms for us. All the way around, it’s a great atmosphere.”
Reid says Missouri Western and the city of St. Joseph makes the team feel welcome.
“I’m a big fan of Missouri Western State University.”
Reid adds, though, that he doesn’t have anything to do with the “business side” of the Chiefs, where the decision will be made to either return to St. Joseph or hold camp somewhere else.
Whether it is because this could be the last year the Chiefs hold camp in St. Joseph or whether it is because the team came so close to getting to the Super Bowl last year or whether it is because quarterback Patrick Mahomes won the NFL MVP last year, fans came out in droves this year.
It didn’t take long for Missouri Western officials to conclude the crowds would be the biggest ever this year, though they thought that was a remote possibility when the Chiefs came to town for their first practice July 27.
The first weekend attracted 15,000 fans. The crowd grew the next weekend, with 16,000 attending.
Then, there was the huge weekday crowd, when 6,500 showed up for a Wednesday practice, an unheard-of number for a weekday. Of course, that Wednesday the quarterbacks, including NFL MVP Mahomes, signed autographs.
KFEQ Sports Director Dave Riggert contributed to this report.