Who: Chiefs 90-man offseason roster, and all coaches and front office
What: Daily training camp practices
Where: Missouri Western State University, 4525 Downs Dr, St Joseph, MO 64507
When: July 24 - August 14. See the daily schedule below.
Check the weather
Every practice is scheduled to be open to the public EXCEPT for practices that are moved indoors due to rain. So be sure to check @ArrowheadPride before leaving for practice to make sure it hasn't been rained out. You can check this Weather.com link for St. Joe's weather that day.
There is an indoor facility on campus that the Chiefs will use in the event of a rainout. It is not open to the public simply for space reasons -- it's hard to fit a thousand or more fans in an indoor complex.
How to get there
You go to Google, type in "Missouri Western State University", click on the map and then put your address in for directions. Or just go here and put in your address in the top left. MWSU has directions, too.
If you can't figure this out by now, there is no hope for you. You and Old Man Thorman can sit back and talk about the good 'ol days when people used real maps.
What time to get there
The gates open 30 minutes before practice. So for all but the first practice, that's 7:45 a.m. Getting there at that time is plenty of time. You could even show up a few minutes late since they are often just stretching at that point. Practices should last about two hours and 40 minutes (unless Big Red cuts them a break and lets 'em out early).
How much does it cost?
You will be charged $5 for parking. All but one practice is free to enter. Family Fun Day (Saturday, July 26) will be $5 to enter.
Other things you can buy: Chiefs gear in the merchandising tent, food and drinks. You may spend money on lunch if you're eating in St. Joe (food recommendations below).
How to park
MWSU will charge you $5 to park your car in their parking lot. RVs and buses will be charged $15. For power campers, you can buy a season pass for $35 in the Looney Complex on campus. You will park in this horseshoe parking lot, entering from the south.
The practice fields are up and to the left from this picture. It's a good quarter mile to the practice fields, which sucks when it's hot out. If you walk to the fields and enter to the left of the MWSU ticket office, there will be a large set of stairs you'll need to go down to get to the practice fields. If you stay to the right of the ticket office, you won't encounter stairs. Either way, you walk through the Chiefs merchandising tent to get there.
This map shows you the whole thing and gives you an idea of how it all looks.
You can tailgate in the parking lot. Not many people do though. They say no alcohol in the parking lot, which would be the first time anyone's broken that rule on a college campus.
Where to sit during practice
There will be bleachers that fit about 1,800 people on one side of the fields. You can probably find a seat there but the busy days (first day and Family Fun Day) it might be tough to find a seat. Bring your own chair if you don't want to sit in the bleachers.
You can also stand the entire practice. You're allowed to walk around three sides of the fields to get different angles.
Photos are encouraged but no video
Take all the photos you want. The Chiefs say there is no video. I have no idea how they would enforce this now that I think about it.
Pro tip: Make sure your best ones are tweeted at us or posted on our Facebook page or sent to me via email at Joel@sbnation.com.
What to look for during practice
- Take your own notes and write up a camp report in the FanPosts at AP. Plenty of people do this.
- Who is lining up where? If the Chiefs decide to move Jamaal Charles to, say, cornerback, you can say you were there when it happened.
- The players will do some drills broken up by position. Find out where your favorite position group is practicing and scope out the best spot along the fence.
- Listen to some of the fun words the coaching staff uses.
- See who Andy Reid is watching. He spends a lot of time with the offense.
- Pay attention to the 11-on-11 drills. Those are the parts of practice that most resemble a game and pretty much the reason you go.
- Look for the most obscure jersey worn by a Chiefs fan. I'm talkin' 1994 Greg Hill.
- The players who aren't practicing will be doing their own conditioning off to the side. You'll see them.
- Spot John Dorsey. I bet he's wearing a grey Chiefs sweatshirt and shorts.
How to get autographs
Some players will sign autographs every day after practice. It's usually broken down by position group, so one day the linebackers will sign and the next day the running backs will sign and so on. We will tweet who is signing when @ArrowheadPride.
There are two spots to be on the look out for autographs. The first one is behind the goal post on the southwest side of the field. It's in front of the media tent (come say hi to me) and the VIP / players family tent. Some players will stop there after practice and fans will line up along the fence to get autographs.
The second spot is a hill that leads from the field to the players locker room area. It's on the southwest side of the field as well. They will walk down the hill on their way in (get their early and post up) and up hill on their way out. This is where kids should be getting their autographs but it fills up quickly, so scope out a spot early. You'll see every player and coach walk past this area.
It's the bottom left goal post in this picture (which Google Maps needs to update).
Pro tip: Bring a cute kid with you to ask for autographs. Works 60 percent of the time, every time.
What to bring to camp
- A print out of the roster. If you're that die-hard. There are a lot of new numbers.
- Water. Lots of it. It's hot out there. You can bring in your own bottle. The Chiefs will be offering free water.
- Sunscreen. You don't want your face looking like a catcher's mitt when you're 50 years old. Also, you could be a potential Arrowhead Pride reader for years so I don't you need to go dying on me now.
- Umbrella. If you hate the sun and want the shade.
- Cash. You can buy drinks and food at the complex. You also have to pay for parking. There is a tent with Chiefs merchandise as well.
- Your kids. They're welcome. There is a kids zone with stuff for them to do if they're not yet breaking down the 3-4 defense.
- Chairs. If you're not looking to sit on the bleachers.
What not to bring to camp
From MWSU:
- Firearms, weapons of any type or fireworks
- Coolers - any size, any type
- Plastic, metal or glass cups, cans or containers (Sealed bottles of water are allowed)
- Thermos bottles or flasks
- Food
- Beer or liquor or cigarettes (no smoking)
- Video cameras or professional cameras/lenses
- Flammable liquids
- Noisemakers - air horns, klaxon, bells, whistles, etc.
- Boom boxes
- Laser pointers of any type, poles or rods
- Any other items deemed dangerous or unacceptable by security
Where to eat in St. Joe
Here is a video with food options. We also asked for these recommendations on Twitter. Here's what people said:
@ArrowheadPride You need to go to PepperJax Grill!
— Aaron Moutray (@A_Moochie) July 12, 2014
@brentbeats @ArrowheadPride Il Lazzarone just opened. Traditional Neapolitan pizza.
— Ross Martin (@PCBearcat) July 12, 2014
@ArrowheadPride il Lazzarone, new higher-end pizza place downtown, good atmosphere. Also Boudreaux's
— Justin Sampson (@JustinLSampson) July 12, 2014
@ArrowheadPride Bleeker Street Deli
— Reese (@reese7209) July 12, 2014
@ArrowheadPride Hi Ho is also a great watering hole with inventive food.
— Rob Wolfe (@Spottylogic) July 12, 2014
@ArrowheadPride @brentbeats taqueria Juarez. It's a small lunch counter inside a Hispanic grocery store in the south end. It's magical
— Ross Martin (@PCBearcat) July 12, 2014
@ArrowheadPride Bandana's barbecue is pretty good. It isn't OK Joes or anything but it's good.
— Levi Smith (@MyNameIsLeviSmi) July 12, 2014
@ArrowheadPride Barbosa Mexican Restaurant.
— Allen (@savagechiefs92) July 12, 2014
@ArrowheadPride pizza royal in the south side, best authentic pizza in the world
— kolby brock (@kdiddy65) July 12, 2014
Resources
- Chiefs roster
- St. Joe News-Press Chiefs camp guide (map on page 16-17)
- St. Joe's Chiefs training camp page
- Missouri Western's Chiefs training camp page
Chiefs 2014 training camp schedule
*Arrowhead Time
**Each practice is scheduled to be about two hours and 40 minutes.
Thursday, July 24 Practice - 3:30 p.m. First Practice
Friday, July 25 Practice - 8:15 a.m.
Saturday, July 26 Practice - 8:15 a.m. Family Fun Day- $5 Admission
Sunday, July 27 Practice - 8:15 a.m. STH Appreciation
Monday, July 28 Practice - 8:15 a.m.
Tuesday, July 29 No Practice
Wednesday, July 30 Practice - 8:15 a.m.
Thursday, July 31 Practice - 8:15 a.m
Friday, Aug. 1 Practice - 8:15 a.m.
Saturday, Aug. 2 Practice - 8:15 a.m.
Sunday, Aug. 3 Practice - 8:15 a.m.
Monday, Aug. 4 Practice - 8:15 a.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 5 No Practice
Wednesday, Aug. 6 No Practice
Thursday, Aug. 7 Preseason Game No. 1 - Chiefs vs. Bengals - 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 8 No Practice
Saturday, Aug. 9 Practice - 8:15 a.m.
Sunday, Aug. 10 Practice - 8:15 a.m.
Monday, Aug. 11 Practice - 8:15 a.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 12 Practice - 8:15 a.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 13 Practice - 8:15 a.m.
Thursday, Aug. 14 Practice - 8:15 a.m. Final Camp Practice
Friday, Aug. 15 No Practice
Saturday, Aug. 16 No Practice
Sunday, Aug. 17 Preseason Game No. 2 - Chiefs at Panthers - 7 p.m.