ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — For the first time in a long time, St. Joseph, Missouri, could be without Chiefs training camp.
For the past 10 years, the Kansas City Chiefs have held training camp at Missouri Western State University.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL reportedly told teams on Tuesday that training camps must be held at team facilities. For the Chiefs, that would mean sticking to the Truman Sports Complex.
“That’s definitely a major loss for St. Joe in my opinion," said Hannah Hoffman of Hazel's Coffee and Roasting Company.
In February, the Chiefs and MWSU extended their contract through 2022.
If the Chiefs are required to have camp at home, some local businesses are expecting to take a hit.
“We’re really sad about the possibility of them not coming this year, that’s a lot of business that we’re probably going to be losing out on, it’s kind of sad for us," Hoffman said.
Businesses such as the Country Cookie told 41 Action News they typically set up a pop-up shop at camp, which makes for a successful summer of business.
“It brings in a lot of business because we don’t take like a huge selection out there, just kind of a little bit, they’re more just like single cookies for people to just eat while they are there," Josie O'Daniell said.
Country Cookie designs specialty Chiefs cookies for camp and said they make deliveries to players, including Chris Jones.
Despite the change in plans, O'Daniell said most businesses will understand.
“I mean it is disappointing, all the local businesses are really going to take a hit from not having that tourism coming in, but I think overall we’d rather have people be safe and healthy than try and push it," O'Daniell said.
The Chiefs have not officially announced changes to training camp.
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