In a board poll by telephone, the Missouri Western State University Board of Governors today formally approved a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs to keep the NFL team’s training camp in St. Joseph this year. The contract, which formalizes the agreement Missouri Western and the Chiefs announced in January, also includes an option for an additional one-year extension that would cover training camp in 2019.
“We are quite proud of our relationship with the Chiefs, and we’re pleased to welcome them back this summer, and we hope for many years to come,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president.
“We are pleased that the Missouri Western Board of Governors approved the contract agreement that we reached early in 2018,” Chiefs President Mark Donovan said. “The entire Missouri Western community and the city of St. Joseph have fully embraced Chiefs training camp and have provided our team with tremendous facilities and service for almost a full decade. We are very excited for the upcoming season and know our fans are going to enjoy getting their first glimpse of the 2018 team on the campus of Missouri Western this summer.”
Under the agreement, the Chiefs and Missouri Western agree to cost-reducing measures related to rental equipment and labor expenses. 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 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.
The Chiefs expect to announce this year’s training camp schedule next month.
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.