Chiefs expecting record-breaking turnout at training camp
By Chris Fortune
The reigning back-to-back Super Bowl Champions are attracting a wider audience as they prepare for a new season.
The Kansas City Chiefs, Mosaic Life Care and Missouri Western State University hosted an introductory training camp conference on Friday, where Chiefs President Mark Donovan said he expects record-breaking crowds with ticket reservations up 30% this year.
“We have found that being able to have 5,000 people out at practice is about the sweet spot for us,” Donovan said at the conference. “We could put a lot more through here, but we don’t think that that experience would be as good.”
Veterans moved in Friday for training camp ahead of opening day on Sunday. This is the last year under contract for the Chiefs training camp in St. Joseph, but Donovan said the team fully expects to be back.
A short-term, one- to two-year deal is the most likely scenario if the Chiefs extend their contract with Missouri Western. Donovan says it gives both parties more flexibility moving forward.
“We’re already starting some conversations about ‘What does it look like in the future,’” Elizabeth Kennedy, president of Missouri Western State University, said. “And I think what President Donovan said is certainly something that we echo. We want to make the camp experience the best it can be for fans.”
Kennedy said contract discussions will be on the Chiefs’ timetable.
“It may be before the season that we’ll probably start the conversations,” she said. “It might not be until after they win the next Super Bowl that they’ll be having those conversations with us.”
Donovan also touched on the decision to have a new facility or renovate Arrowhead Stadium, calling it a “generational decision” the team wants to make correctly.
In the meantime, Donovan called it a privilege to be part of a championship-winning team that is chasing history to become the first in NFL history to three-peat.
“From my perspective, we are really embracing, as an organization and as a team, the opportunity that is in front of us, which is to create even more history for the National Football League,” Donovan said.
