The team might move the camp to Missouri Western State University as early as 2010, pending the approval of a proposal for $25 million in state tax credits, according to a team statement. The Missouri Development Finance Board will consider the proposal Tuesday.

The team's training camp, held at UW-River Falls since 1991, has become a boon for tourism in western Wisconsin. The camp attracts 10,000 to 15,000 Chiefs fans annually to watch the team practice and scrimmage. The visitors eat at local restaurants and shop in local stores, generating more than $2 million for the area every year, officials have said.

Four years ago, $2.5 million in state funding, athletics event revenues and student fees were spent improving the facilities at the Wisconsin camp.

"We love having them and would love to continue having them," said Rosanne Bump, chief executive of the River Falls Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau. But competition will be tough, because Missouri wants its team, she said; any negotiations would be between the team and UW-River Falls.

Chiefs President Carl Peterson announced Friday the team has exercised its one-year contract and will return to River Falls in 2009.

UW-River Falls spokesman Kevin Harter said the school continues to negotiate with the Chiefs. The two have an excellent working relationship, he said.

"For nearly 20 years, the Chiefs have returned to River Falls each summer because of the weather, which is conducive to holding a productive professional Football training camp," Harter said. "The university's facilities and the proximity to the Minnesota Vikings for combined practices and scrimmages are key factors in their annual return."

But Missouri Sen. Charlie Shields wants the training camp at Missouri Western, which is in St. Joseph, Shields' home city.

The Missouri school has the first option to sign a five-year contract, with a series of five-year options, so long as the school can meet standards and obligations required to hold the camp, officials said.

Before moving its camp to River Falls, the Chiefs held their training camp at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo.

The Chiefs are among the last remnants of Wisconsin's Cheese League, which at its peak in 1995 had NFL summer-training camps for the Chiefs and four other teams: the Green Bay Packers in De Pere and Green Bay, the Chicago Bears in Platteville, the New Orleans Saints in La Crosse and the Jacksonville Jaguars in Stevens Point.

The teams, along with the Minnesota Vikings in Mankato, often scrimmaged against each other. Fans flocking to the practices have seen some of the NFL's best -- including Joe Montana and Marcus Allen -- practicing in River Falls.

Andy Rathbun can be reached at 651-228-2121.