KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics in Kansas, Missouri and at the local level. Share your story idea with Charlie.
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The Kansas City Chiefs released renderings Wednesday for its new $3 billion stadium, featuring a translucent roof, on the Kansas side. The team is set to move into the new facility in 2031.
The Chiefs will also build a new training facility in Olathe, near College Boulevard and Ridgeview Road — and that has people in St. Joseph asking whether training camp will follow.
When the Chiefs come to St. Joseph, the team and their fans eat a lot of pizza. At Il Lazzarone, staff said a pepperoni and hot honey pizza is Patrick Mahomes' favorite.
Tyler Soethout, general manager at Il Lazzarone, takes pride in every pie.
"A lotta love and care that goes into the process," Soethout said.
That consistency pays off during Chiefs Training Camp, one of the restaurant's busiest stretches of the year.
"This is our favorite time of the year," Soethout said.
Chiefs fan Freeman Mahoney described the energy training camp brings to the city.
"There's a lot of excitement, there's a couple of celebrities walking around you don't normally see — stuff like that," Mahoney said.
Customers and business owners are now wondering whether the Chiefs will skip the annual move to St. Joseph and instead hold training camp at the new Olathe facility, which the team plans to build over the next five years.
When asked Friday, the Chiefs did not say what their long-term plans are. Head coach Andy Reid spoke warmly about the St. Joseph community.
"They treat us great up here, we appreciate that and all the effort that goes into that," Reid said.
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Brett Esely, executive director of the St. Joseph Sports Commission, said free yard signs welcoming the team to town have been flying off the shelf.
“You’d think there was a $100 bill taped to the back," Esely said.
Esely described what training camp means economically for the city.
"What that means for St. Joseph is a lot of visitors over the course of three to four weeks while they're here," Esely said.
Back at Il Lazzarone, Soethout said the uncertainty about training camp's future in St. Joseph has come up in conversation — but his focus remains on what he can control.
"Among us, we have talked about it. We wonder what's going to happen. Like I said, we try to just focus on what we can control," Soethout said.
The Chiefs begin practice on Saturday, but the first one open to the general public is July 30.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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