Chiefs parade could break 2023 attendance record

 The Kansas City Chiefs’ return home could lead to a parade for the ages. 

Following their 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday in Las Vegas, Kansas City will host a parade on Wednesday — Valentine’s Day — that could exceed the record one million fans who came out for the 2023 championship parade. 

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. CST and take the Chiefs down a two-mile route in downtown Kansas City to Union Station, where the team’s players, coaches, and ownership group will give speeches following their second consecutive Super Bowl win and third title in five seasons. 

The parade itself will last approximately two hours before arriving at the final rallying point. 

Three factors could make attendance skyrocket. First, Wednesday’s temperature in Kansas City could hit an unseasonably warm 60 degrees. Second, there’s a chance pop superstar Taylor Swift may be in the parade alongside boyfriend and Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce. 

And third, all Kansas City public schools and Independence (Mo.) public schools announced before the Super Bowl that if the Chiefs were to win, schools would be closed on Wednesday. 

Kansas City officials are already bracing for the record turnout and may have already contacted Swift’s representatives about her presence, and the fact the need for extra security might overwhelm them. 

“I can’t confirm or deny,” Kansas City manager Brian Platt told KCUR. “But we may have already told that to her team, just to keep everybody safe and make things a little easier for us.”