Local leaders excited for Chiefs training camp return

Mayor John Josendale said he is an avid Chiefs fan and is looking forward to the team’s return. As the leader of the community, he said he has pride in the work that makes training camp happen.

“It’s always an exciting time for the people of St. Joe. We think that between Mosaic, Missouri Western, the job that everybody does to put this together, it’s a way to showcase us and it’s been very positive,” Josendale said.

He said he takes extra pride in the fact that players speak so positively about the region.

“In interviews, when you hear the players talk, they talk about the good time they had in St. Joe,” Josendale said. “We kind of look at it that the road to the Super Bowl last year started in St. Joe. Now we get to really show that and experience that.”

The Chiefs have held training camp at Missouri Western every year since 2010, excluding 2020 due to the pandemic. The 2023 camp will mark the 13th year in St. Joseph.

For Missouri Western, the opportunity to showcase what the campus has to offer to travelers and fans helps with recruiting for sports and the institution as a whole.

Missouri Western Athletics Director Andy Carter said the Chiefs returning to the area after winning the Super Bowl is a confidence booster for the campus.

“Those are good accolades that they want to come back here ... That means something special that we’re being able to deliver for them,” Carter said. “If you come up here for the camp, maybe you come up here for one of our games or to enjoy all of the different entertainment options that are on a college campus ... whether that’s a musical, play or even a speaker series that you could be involved in that.”

Of the five total training camp sites used throughout the history of the franchise, the current tenure in St. Joseph is the third-longest at any location, according to the release.

The Chamber of Commerce hopes the foot traffic to the area will encourage fans to stay awhile and see what the city has to offer.

“It’s hard to hope for more than what we’ve had. It’s always been such a great experience. We have great fan involvement at camp. I love seeing all the different fans in our restaurants and in our shops,” said Kristi Bailey, director of communications and marketing for the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce. “The one thing I would really like to see more is more overnight visitors, I would love to see more people make a weekend, make a vacation out of it.

“You used to hear all the time when the Chiefs were in Wisconsin, that people would go up and they stay a week because it was far away and they needed to. Here, we’re easier to just make an afternoon of it. I would hope that people make it more of a little mini vacation.”

Josendale said he expects this upcoming training camp to be one of celebration coming off of the Super Bowl 57 win. He said he’s looking forward to development over the next few years.

“We know they’re coming (the Chiefs), we have them a couple of years and we’ll start building up. There’ll be a lot of work being done,” Josendale said. “For those of you (fans) who attended last year’s Red Rally, it was really great ... This year we’re going to blow it out. It’s even going to be bigger and better. So we’re looking forward to that.”

Dates and more details for the 2023 camp will be announced in June.

One thing is for certain, fans can rest easy that the road to Super Bowl 58 will begin in St. Joseph.