Athletics and Sports
Sports in St. Joseph: Everybody In.
Sports fans unite in St. Joe. We’re the home of the Kansas City Chiefs summer training camp (yes, you can watch). We’ve got miles of trails for biking, walking and jogging; runners clubs; crossfit gyms and a year-round indoor ice skating center. Families and baseball fans love our remodeled Phil Welch Stadium, home of the wooden bat league the St. Joseph Mustangs. Youth soccer is big in St. Joe, with a multi-field complex for fall and spring plus the use of the state-of-the-art indoor facility at Missouri Western State University during the winter. Tennis, anyone? We’ve got it. If water’s your thing, check out our aquatic park and several indoor pools. Check out exciting MWSU Griffons’ football and basketball games or any of our new fitness facilities. And golf … look no further. Five area golf courses, including private golf at the St. Joseph Country Club Fairview Golf Course and Moila Country Club offer great views and challenging (but friendly) greens.
WATCH AN NFL PRACTICE
Every August, football fans gather at the of Missouri Western State University to watch the Kansas City Chiefs at Summer Training Camp. Spanning three weeks, the camp features many practices open to the public, autograph opportunities and a special Kids Zone area. Photo opps abound and nearly 30,000 fans enjoy the unique atmosphere. St Joseph was chosen as the summer training site over a number of other cities across the Midwest, and the university partnered with the Kansas City Chiefs to construct the new and quite impressive Indoor Sports Complex.
BASEBALL DREAMS START HERE
From spring to summer to fall, baseball opportunities for little league and traveling teams make St. Joseph its own “field of dreams.” Numerous fields are available across the city, including the newly remodeled Hyde Park baseball complex. A highlight of our baseball town is the summer season of the St. Joseph Mustangs, St. Joseph’s wooden-bat league (part of the four-state MINK league). Known for a fun, laid-back atmosphere, hilarious on-field games, great food and fantastic fireworks, the Mustangs draw players from across the nation who say Phil Welch Stadium is one of their all-time favorites. See for yourself … the crack of the bat is waiting in St. Joe.
LESSER-KNOWN ATHLETIC ATTRACTIONS
Did you know we have ice hockey and competitive ice skating at Bode Ice Arena? (Look on the walls for photos of national names in skating who’ve trained there.) We’ve got disc golf, with a course open to the public at the green and scenic campus of Missouri Western State University and on the parkway. Mini golf provides a decades-old tradition at Cool Crest Garden Golf and Joe Town Mini Golf. Mountain biking is taking hold in St. Joseph, with trails around the Parkway, Krug Park, and Sunbridge Hills Conservation Area. Early mornings (and several times throughout the day) swimmers gather at Genesis Health Club or the MWSU aquatic center for laps or competitive training. Crossfit gyms are taking off, too, with names like B-Fit offering full indoor crossfit gyms with classes starting as early as 5 a.m. Whatever your athletic bent is, you can improve your craft — or just have fun — in St. Joseph.
It can be tough being a hockey fan when you live in football and baseball country. While taking in a live professional game would mean a road trip, finding a hockey-loving community in St. Joseph is as easy as visiting the Bode Ice Arena. St. Joseph Griffon Youth Hockey and Bode Ice Arena provide an outlet for children to learn about and play a fantastic sport. There are “Learn to Play” classes and teams for little ones to high school students. I know that my family couldn’t be happier to have our own favorite sport in our home town.
Will Stuck