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ChiefBlueCFC - thank you! Just sent a PM to you and looking forward to your response.
gblowfish - when the Chiefs were first pursued, the Alumni Department was first on the agenda and Gary Spani was the reason for it. Besides heading up the Alumni Department, Gary is 1 of 10 presumed Chiefs Ambassadors who were teammates of Joe, along with a coach at that time. That entire list is Spani, Art Still, Deron Cherry, Carlos Carson, Mike Bell, Ken Kremer, Ted McKnight, Dave Lindstrom, Charlie Getty and Trent Bryant (Walt Corey being the assistant coach way back then). Carson played college ball at LSU and grew up in Louisiana so he likely would have an interest. Art Still was part of 37 Forever's initial golf outing back in 2001 and he's a good stand up guy. Cherry always has worn his heart on his sleeve when talking about Joe in all the features. When I initially contacted the Alumni Department, they all were e-mailed and the very first Zoom Conference of the 5 with the Chiefs (which was held the morning of the Banner Raising Home Opener against the Texans) was with 2 members from the department (names withheld) but I can say Mr. Spani was not in on that meeting, but the people I spoke with are very good (and echoed by a KC media member I just befriended yesterday) and I still stay in regular touch with them. They actually were the ones who introduced me and got me connected with the local KC Bank to establish this account for the Memorial Highway.
Nevertheless, I'd really love to be introduced to Gary Spani. As you said, he can be an incredible help.
The Jackson County Sports Commission is a brand new idea and I'm going to bring it up with KCBS before the week is out. Thanks George!
Shiver Me Timbers - yeah, the cost is a pretty penny. I do very much wish the price came in a lot lower, but I'm not upset at the Chiefs. Far from it. They have a business to run and I get it. This will definitely grab attention and be great PR for them as well. I just need to qualify that we would have access to The Founders Club, as well as The Founders Plaza so it would include use of those facilities as well. It might not be meant to be to have it at Arrowhead, but if that does indeed come to pass, it will not deter me to having a Joe Delaney BBQ Contest take root in KC this year.
Other Location Ideas:
BBQ Restaurant - there's definitely a lot of great venues to choose from and makes a bunch of sense. BBQ Contest should naturally occur at a BBQ restaurant. I have reached out to 1 so far - only because it is an up and comer and is still not open on weekends, so they would not have to worry about being out of pocket but no response yet. Clay had another BBQ venue in mind when we spoke the other night and he is right - their atmosphere would make for a superb venue. If we go that route, it's not necessarily about choosing the best BBQ restaurant in the area - it's more about choosing a BBQ place that offers up a great location, spacious parking area for teams to cook, vibrant atmosphere and sure, a solid reputation as an entrenched KC BBQ restaurant. From our side, it would need to be a location which would welcome the chance to host the event and be able to offer a sweetheart of a deal to make the cost of having the event there be the right choice.
Going perhaps in a different direction - someone from KCBS suggested West Bottoms and stated a BBQ promoter had used the area around Kemper Arena for a contest the last couple of years. As a New Yorker who knows where Arrowhead, Kauffman, the best of the best KC BBQ restaurants, the best ice cream places and a few other places in town are, yes I know where Kemper is but West Bottoms is where exactly?
Also, there might be a chance to bring it to a historical venue....
Big Red Chief - I need to respond to your PM's and I will shortly...
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