The Kansas City Chiefs and Missouri Western State University have reached an agreement that will keep the Chiefs in St. Joseph, Missouri, for training camp in 2018. The agreement also includes an option for an additional one-year extension term that would cover training camp in 2019.
"We are quite proud of the recent success of the Kansas City Chiefs and are looking forward to continuing our relationship with them," said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western's president. "Our campus and the St. Joseph community take great pride in hosting the Chiefs, and I'm pleased they will return in 2018."
"We have been engaged in positive, constructive discussions with Missouri Western State University representatives for months and are pleased to reach this agreement to keep Chiefs Training Camp in St. Joseph," Chiefs President Mark Donovan said. "When we moved training camp back to the state of Missouri in 2010, we could not have imagined the reception and support that Missouri Western and the entire community have provided us. It's an exciting time in Chiefs Kingdom and we look forward to returning to St. Joseph next summer."
Under the extension, the Chiefs and Missouri Western have agreed to cost-reducing measures related to rental equipment and labor expenses to help drive down operating costs. Other conditions of the 2015 contract amendment and the original 2009 contract remain in place.
The Chiefs have held training camp on the campus of Missouri Western State University every year since 2010, when the club returned its training camp to the state of Missouri for the first time in 20 years. The 2018 version of Chiefs Training Camp will mark the ninth year at Missouri Western State University. Of the five total training camp sites used throughout franchise history, the nine-year tenure in St. Joseph is the third-longest at any one location.
Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.
