The Kansas City Chiefs held their first training camp in St. Joseph, MO at Missouri Western State University and drew 60,000 fans over the three weeks of practices.
Early on in the process, MWSU officials estimated that 100,000 people would come through the gates. I also said that was a very ambitious number.
Nearly 20,000 of those visitors came for the first night practice and the intra-squad scrimmage.
From all accounts, the relationship went great in year one.
The Chiefs had a top notch training camp facility closer to home which gave the fans and the players' families an easier route to viewing practice. The players, and Todd Haley, have said on a number of occasions that the fans did make a difference, particularly in the grind of camp.
For MWSU, they have an incredible indoor facility. It's something that is simply not matched in their division of play. It's nearly identical to the Chiefs facility.
"You cannot put a price tag on the number of positive mentions we’ve had (in the media)," MWSU AD Dave Williams told the Kansas City Star. "That could do wonders for us as a university, hopefully with enrollment, with matriculation … the facility improvements are dramatic, and helps every one of our sports."
We'll see if they can hit 100,000 next year.