Lunch With MWSU Athletic Director Dave Williams and Architect Jeff Ellison, Part I

Thursday, February 5th, I went to cover the weekly St. Joseph Kiwanis Club lunch meeting as I have for the past 10 years. The club pays to have a weekly news bulletin printed for members unable to attend the regular Thursday meetings. The Kiwanis meetings follow a simple agenda format that focuses on recent club activities, recognizing community service efforts of members, voluntary donations to a fund that allows members to share something with other members they are feeling good about and then hearing a program presented by a speaker representing a local or area business, organization, or sometimes a school. The meeting on Feb. 5th featured Dave Williams, MWSU Athletic Director as the Kiwanis speaker for the day. Also in attendance was Jeff Ellison, a member of Kiwanis and lead architect for Ellison-Auxier Architectural Designs Inc. Jeff Ellison and his associate Ron Auxier have designed many MWSU buildings in the past and just received the contract for the proposed new athletic facilities needed to bring the Kansas City Chiefs training camp to MWSU. What a unique opportunity this was for anyone interested in the inner-workings of what is taking place to get the Chiefs training camp here by August of 2010. In the first part of this two-part post, I will cover the details concerning the financing needed to get the facilities constructed in order for MWSU to be the official new home of the Chiefs training camp. The second part of this post will cover some of the questions/rumors students are discussing with regard to how the Chiefs training camp will effect them after the Chiefs start holding training camp at MWSU.

Mr. Williams explained how the courtship between MWSU and the Chiefs had been going on for nearly seven years before finally coming to a formal agreement this past January. "What was once a dead issue when I arrived here this past summer literally came back to life with one phone call from State Senator Charlie Shields this past fall" stated Williams. Now that the majority of funding for the new facilities associated with bringing the Chiefs to MWSU is in place the task for Mr. Williams is to acquire the remaining funds needed to get the indoor football practice facility constructed. Williams states that the cost for the $25 million in bonds that are being generated as a tax credit for the Chiefs is still in negotiation as to who will cover it. The cost of the new indoor practice facility with coaches offices, locker rooms, meeting rooms, and future lecture halls is estimated to be approximately $14 million with the Chiefs currently committing to $10 million of that amount from their $25 million tax credit. Williams pointed out that the Chiefs investment in MWSU will benefit the university, students, and the community for years to come but he would like to see the Chiefs raise their commitment to hopefully cover the entire cost of the new indoor practice facility. "Right now we (MWSU) can't completely cover the $4-4.5 million gap in funds all alone. We can cover some of that amount but not all of it. We have a great start in terms of obtaining private donations and attempting to sell the naming rights for the new facility but I'm going to talk with the Chiefs about raising their level of commitment. I'm hopeful they will understand our position about being able to produce such a large sum of cash that quickly" said Williams.

Some Max Experience funds will be used for the new indoor facility but they will be nowhere near the amount needed to reach the $14 million needed to get it constructed by August of 2010. Another fact that came to light was the Chiefs requirement to spend $50 million improving Arrowhead Stadium and portions of the Truman Sports Complex in Kansas City to get the $25 million in tax credits from the State of Missouri to help MWSU construct the new indoor facility. According to Jeff Ellison, "A lot of people don't understand that the Chiefs have to commit to spending $50 million on Arrowhead Stadium renovations before the state gives them a 50% matching tax credit to use toward bringing their training camp to Missouri Western." The Chiefs are spending a large sum of money on facilities that the public will utilize for a long time was the message Ellison wanted to convey which is an angle to the Chiefs training camp story that has not been widely reported on. "The Chiefs required spending in Kansas City on renovations and improvements is five to six times as much as it will be here. Hopefully, the local MWSU project can obtain a small amount of that funding to help us meet time tables and construction deadlines to get the Chiefs here by 2010" said Ellison.



Dave Williams and Jeff Ellison are both confident that the funding details will be worked out sooner than later between MWSU and the Chiefs. Both parties are looking forward to a bright future in their partnership. It appears that once all of the politics are finally put to bed in terms of getting some ground broken for construction, the real fun can begin.