World Cup 2026 at Arrowhead?

[WoodDraw]

P.s. there's nothing wrong with putting together an excellent bid committee that used all their lobbying connections to make a great bid.

God knows we've lost out on plenty not doing this.

[AlkaliAxel]

I'm going to block you for sleeping on the most underrated district. The Crossroads. I'd also add 39th on that list lots of traffic/foot traffic

Fair fair fair. Still waiting on Vince Vaughn or whatever his name is to get that big Crossroads project going now.

[WoodDraw]

It's a Saturday night. All of you need a drink.

Np here which is why I need to log off lol

[DColeKC]

So I could go make a quick youtube video for you right now. You'd see the activity in PNL alone. Every bar and restaurant has a mostly full crowd, a few hundred people gathered outside waiting for a band. Residents walking dogs etc. Of course it's 9pm on a Saturday and I'm guessing that same area he showed in said youtube video is lacking pedestrian traffic at the moment too.

What days of the week are staying downtown? Time of year?

Saying KC has a quiet downtown is a lot different than saying it's run down and empty of people. The FIFA people thankfully came and saw for themselves instead of relying on youtube vlogs.

Not sure why you're surprised with the reaction here. This passion is exactly why we got the World Cup over the massive pedestrian and bicycle metropolis of Denver.

I would hope so. It's freaking Saturday night.

I'm with you. I love KC too. That's why I'm here and yes that's why KC got the world cup.

When dcole posts about downtown it's mostly only Cordish town which is a tiny part of downtown

Not my intention! Just what I’m most familiar with.

Our downtown would be NOTHING without the crossroads, and river market. They all compliment each other perfectly.

[FlippantCitizen]

I'm admittedly a little lost in the discussion here. What are we going to do, substantively, to take the city to another level before 2026 given the current municipal political environment and national economic environment?

No doubt, scoring World Cup games is big. Very, very big. But when we talk about I70 being outdated or the area around the stadiums being rough around the edges, or any other area of KC being rough around the edges for that matter, sidewalks being in disrepair etc etc, what substantively is changed by us securing on this bid? We are just going to find the money to fix all the sidewalks; collectively decide as a city that is the priority when I already have to see my neighbors pushing their family members wheelchair, their kids' stroller in the street every day?

The streetcar expansion and airport will be finished by the time of the '26 WC. We are, as we speak, in an accelerated phase of road resurfacing in the urban core and by 2026 the condition of urban core streets will hopefully be in a far better state than they are now. The downtown residential development pipeline was basically clogged by the glut of applications before the new affordability requirements came to be. Hopefully we can find a political solution to get things flowing again but regardless there will be a lot more residential units online by 2026. Hopefully this will put some dent in the "emptiness" of downtown though undoubtedly we will still have a long way to go on that front. The riverfront and Berkeley Park area will hopefully be significantly transformed. Maybe new bike lanes will be online? Various street calming and pedestrian friendly improvements. A big question mark (doubtful frankly) is the 670 cap. I would like for that to be on track for 2026 completion but that seems dubious if not impossible. Maybe this will spur some activity in the hotel pipeline?

So what really are we talking about? Sending out street sweepers, cleaning up litter, organizing coach buses from hotel districts to Arrowhead. Throwing good fan experiences in entertainment areas.

This will be a fantastic opportunity to show off the city. We absolutely must put our best foot forward and I believe we will do so. But when we talk about what this can do for the city substantively, not simply as an exercise of showing of the assets we already have, then what can we expect? Certainly not a transformation of the area around TSC before 2026. Sidewalks on Blue Ridge Cutoff? Okay, I'm all for it but in the context of this event it's basically irrelevant. Really the only thing that this will do is accelerate the new stadium discussion. I believe, and this reinforces my previous suspicion, that Arrowhead will undergo significant upgrades, some of which will be ready for the WC and some of which may continue after. This will be part of a bargain to keep the Chiefs at Arrowhead in which the the state may step up to help.

As far as what will happen in the downtown/urban core as a direct result of this bid, I'm doubtful it will be much that was not going to happen anyway. As for what we gain in terms of cachet and exposure that could lead to future investment that is anyone's guess. Though I would not predict much will actually happen (except for maybe impetus to expedite some already planned hotel capacity) before 2026. Because at the end of the day, how much really, is two weeks of heavy tourist activity going to change the fundamentals of investing in a project in KC? Maybe you can all tell me why I'm wrong but I just don't see where the money and will comes to do anything transformative just because of the WC. If anything I feel this adds a bit more urgency to things that are already planned but finding funds and political flexibility to achieve our goals will remain frustrated, as is usually the case, and nothing truly revolutionary comes out of the woodwork because of the WC alone.

My 2c.

[DColeKC]

Solid input.

Only thing I'd say is knowing there's a tidal wave of money coming into the local economy in 2026 may be enough to open the checkbook.

Ideally, this spurs other economic impact for decades to come. It might be crazy that we got this now, but hopefully we can be an expected shoe in for these types of events in 15-30 years.

[WoodDraw]

Maybe we can finally get trash cans in the crossroads? I know I'm dreaming big but these are big times my friends.

[Cratedigger]

Wow… catching up on this discussion. Went a little off the rails. KC’s downtown is plenty active for the size of the city. It’s not DC or Chicago, but why would you expect it to be? There’s tons of life down here, the city is not dead in any way. Having recently moved back, I’m actually pleasantly surprised at the amount of little things that are going on on random days.

For the record, buddy of mine from LA/Dallas is in town visiting for the first time. He’s super impressed with KC. Says our downtown is way nicer and hillier than he was expecting. Impressed by all the old buildings downtown. Was absolutely blown away by the Nelson. Says the streetcar is way cleaner than the DART. He’s already planning to come back for the BigXII tourney or the draft.

Multiple times has compared the vibe to Pittsburgh and Austin 20 years ago

[FlippantCitizen]

Maybe we can finally get trash cans in the crossroads? I know I'm dreaming big but these are big times my friends.

In my mind that would be the type of thing that would be an awesome chunk to bite off.

[AlkaliAxel]

This is what we’re expecting the World Cup to do:

a.) get stalled/slowed projects fast-tracked
b.) Get the council/state to realize KC is now one of the Midwest's premiere cities so they see it's time to start doing big boy things

[WoodDraw]

Solid input.

Only thing I'd say is knowing there's a tidal wave of money coming into the local economy in 2026 may be enough to open the checkbook.

Ideally, this spurs other economic impact for decades to come. It might be crazy that we got this now, but hopefully we can be an expected shoe in for these types of events in 15-30 years.

This is not what most economists have concluded regarding the world cup

The us doesn't really fit because most of our infrastructure is built. We don't have to build along the black sea or the Amazon.

Plus the feds aren't going to build us a high speed rail link to Texas.

Most of the stuff that needs to be done is boring transportation and infrastructure planning.

I mean does anyone think there's a cool project that will come out of this? I can't think of one.

[AlkaliAxel]

Solid input.

Only thing I'd say is knowing there's a tidal wave of money coming into the local economy in 2026 may be enough to open the checkbook.

Ideally, this spurs other economic impact for decades to come. It might be crazy that we got this now, but hopefully we can be an expected shoe in for these types of events in 15-30 years.

This is not what most economists have concluded regarding the world cup

The us doesn't really fit because most of our infrastructure is built. We don't have to build along the black sea or the Amazon.

Plus the feds aren't going to build us a high speed rail link to Texas.

Most of the stuff that needs to be done is boring transportation and infrastructure planning.

I mean does anyone think there's a cool project that will come out of this? I can't think of one.

For KC? Yes. That's the beauty of this for KC is that we're small enough it could change our city, whereas it won't for most of the others. And by cool project, I mean getting the things we've always talked about this board actually done now.

It's possible we could get a windfall over half a years worth of KC's city budget in a two-week span. For KC, this shouldn't be underestimated.

[Rusty Irish]

I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised that KC got selected. Some of the big name US Midwestern cities like Chicago and Minneapolis being out helped and put us on an island in terms of a geographical spread of cities. I think some of our perceived peers like Cincinnati seemed to get stuck as tweener type bids. Were they in the Central region? The Eastern? I was also surprised as some of the other cities with weaker infrastructure have stadiums in centralized locations which would have mitigated their problems with transit. The "culture" here was definitely a strong point. I am more convinced local people will go to games here than they would in cities like Nashville which is what they are looking for as some of the weaker games traditonally have had a ton of empty seats.

As I've said before on here, I'm not from here, I'm from the UK and I've been going to football/soccer matches all my life, club and international. I think about how this all goes depends on the matches we get - if its Slovakia v Costa Rica, Cameroon v Saudi Arabia, Peru v Romania type games we'll cope - I don't think we will get any games beyond the last 16 for starters. I have the fear of 30k England or Germany fans or the like scrambling to get back to DT or find places to drink. However you also want these teams as they will bring in the most fans but the infrastructure just now is not geared for it and I can see the onslaught from people I know moaning about this - "there was nowhere to drink near the stadium" "paid a fortune for ubers" etc etc. People in the UK go to local bars before games and often make their way there by public transit as stadiums are predominantly in urban areas. We aren't getting a rail system in four years to TSC (if ever) so what ultimately is going to need to happen is a constant stream of shuttle buses taking people to and from and pop bars and entertainment set up and I think theres going to need to be a temporary shuttle type service too from central areas in JC and the Airport which will get some of the overspill stayers who can't/won't pay DT/Plaza rates, but again this depends on the games we get to some extent. Very few if any are hiring a car and tailgating at Arrowhead. Arrowhead is designed for tailgating and tailgating to 90% of people I know is driving up someone's ass. Between all this and the Arrowhead alterations and the incentives to Fifa its a lot of spending. I also hope we don't take our eye off the small things - i.e. giving out free water to fans who are going to be drinking a lot in searing heat. I know people who went to the Europa League Final in Spain last month who ended up drinking out of sink taps in bathrooms.

Its great in that it raises the profile of the city/region. In my time being in KC, I've only ever met one ex-pat from Ireland, so its just not a city people from Europe would ever consider. Its not even a city you would pass on a tour or the like, i.e. route 66. About the only thing people I know, know about Kansas City is Patrick Mahomes.

I'd like to think it improves the chances of attraction Transatlantic flight service, regular. That worried me going in as all the other weaker bids like Baltimore, Nashville and Cincinnati all have that at the moment, Between getting this and the new terminal I'd like to think it gives a decent chance of a connection to LHR, CDG etc. This is a legacy goal of the event that should 100% be attainable and sustainable. Having to connect twice to get an affordable flight fare back to the UK is a major drag for me and likewise anyone visiting.

Be interesting to see how they schedule the Royals games around this also. They are still going to be at TSC in 2026 so will need to be creative there.

Also a minor point, going to need to make sure people know the stadium is in Kansas City, Missouri, Not KCKS.

[KCPowercat]

This whole thread has become a collection of tl;Dr posts

[earthling]

^^Some good insight Rusty Irish.

We aren't getting a rail system in four years to TSC (if ever) so what ultimately is going to need to happen is a constant stream of shuttle buses taking people to and from and pop bars and entertainment set up and I think theres going to need to be a temporary shuttle type service too from central areas in JC and the Airport which will get some of the overspill stayers who can't/won't pay DT/Plaza rates, but again this depends on the games we get to some extent.

In many countries the mode of transit doesn't matter, they just want to get from point A to B. Transit avoiders use uber/cab and will have that option here (and would think some regional Uber drivers will come here for piece of action, even from STL who have local family/friends to stay). Buses will be far more flexible as you can setup many hub points where rail would just be one, and can bypass emergency detours. Several of the other WC markets with distant stadium from event sites will highly likely be running many buses as well and not depend on regular public transit.

What % of each game attendance is expected to be locals attending, over 50%? Nearly all will likely drive to the stadium though there probably should also be some bus hub spots around metro with P&R, not just the event sites/airport hotels. Ticket sales for locals can include selecting a designated P&R hub point for locals if not able to get TSC parking.

On city hotel rates, I wonder if KC was partly selected because a lower cost place to stay. KC may get first round matches involving lower income countries where possible. May be way off base on that one but crossed my mind. Rates may jack up metro wide anyway.

[DColeKC]

They’re saying games will move from west to east as the tournament progresses. Also, due to the heat, we may have night games.

The long term economic impact I was talking about was more about exposure and putting this city on the world map. It certainly can’t hurt.

[DColeKC]

This whole thread has become a collection of tl;Dr posts

There’s some good input in a few of those long posts!

[KCPowercat]

I'm sure there is. Need less words!

[kboish]

Night games is a smart move

[AlkaliAxel]

People keep complaining about Arrowhead not being close to the downtown while forgetting that Philly, LA, Miami, Dallas, and most infamously Boston all have the exact same problem. They’re all probably gonna be doing busses as well for a good chunk of their transportation.