KANSAS CITY — The Kansas City Chiefs fans are flocking to buy T-shirts, lining up for photos and preparing to skip out on work for a celebratory parade after the team won its first Super Bowl in 50 years.
Schools in the area have started calling off classes so students and staff could attend “The Chiefs Kingdom Champions Parade,” which is set for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. Officials announced the celebration Sunday night, shortly after the Chiefs defeated San Francisco 31-20. The festivities will include a victory rally at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo., shortly after the parade ends.
Among the school districts pulling the plug on classes was the school system across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas.
“For the first time in 50 years, our Kansas City Chiefs are bringing home the Vince Lombardi trophy, and we’re all excited to celebrate with our players and fans,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a news release. He said in a tweet he “better see ALL of #ChiefsKingdom there.”
Details about the parade already had been leaking out, as the city put generators and a temporary cellphone tower near the site of the rally. Hotels began booking up after the Chiefs won the AFC championship game, and are businesses made plans to close or operate on a reduced schedule.
At Children’s Mercy Kansas City, the emergency room at the main downtown campus will be open Wednesday, but appointments and some surgeries were being rescheduled or moved.
When the Royals won the World Series in 2015, an estimated 800,000 people flocked to the parade, parking along the side of the interstate when exits clogged. The numbers shattered expectations in a city with a population of about 470,000 and a metropolitan area of about 2 million. Cellphone towers were overwhelmed by the throngs, and buses couldn’t get through.
City spokesman Chris Hernandez offered no specifics on on the expected crowd size for the Chiefs’ celebration, saying only that “we are prepared for a massive crowd of fans wearing red and celebrating a Super Bowl victory that’s been 50 years in the making. So please dress warmly and come downtown to enjoy a family-friendly celebration.”
