Knowing that the world is finally paying attention causes a certain kind of anxiety. The general manager of the Crossroads Hotel in downtown Kansas City, Mikel Ruder, has been creating scenarios in his mind for the past two years. He has mapped out how the hotel would manage the flood, the energy, and the sheer number of guests that the World Cup was expected to bring. Now that June has arrived and the first game is scheduled to begin on June 16, those mental rehearsals are coming to pass. On match days, the hotel is almost completely booked. The average cost of a room has increased by $150 from the previous year. Even so, Ruder acknowledges that beneath the excitement lies a silent concern. “From a business standpoint,” he stated, “you’re always concerned about performance.”
That sentiment is not limited to a single hotel. In addition to hosting six World Cup games, Kansas City is home to four national teams. The city’s destination marketing agency, Visit KC, projects 650,000 visitors in June and July, or about 2.1 million “visitor days” (one person, one day, one overnight). The estimated economic impact is $653 million. These are substantial, self-assured figures. The question of whether they endure is quite different.
Economists have good reason to be skeptical of these numbers. Victor Matheson, a College of the Holy Cross sports economics student, has done the math. Around 210,000 people will attend each game at Arrowhead Stadium, which has been renamed Kansas City Stadium for the tournament, if just over half of its capacity is occupied by actual out-of-town spectators. You will have 630,000 visitor days if each stays for three nights. which closely resembles Visit KC’s estimates but is largely predicated on erratic assumptions. Argentina and Lionel Messi matches will draw people from all over the world. It’s highly likely that fewer flights will be moved during an Ecuador vs. Curaçao match.
The economic impact figure of $653 million is also scrutinized. According to Kabeer Bora, a professor of sports economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, these forecasts frequently rely on multiplier effects, which hold that every dollar spent by tourists has an impact on the local economy. The substitution effects—spending diverted from other sources, residents leaving town to avoid the crowds, and money flowing out of the city entirely to FIFA or vendors located outside the metro—are what they frequently fail to account for. Similar things happened in Kansas City when some residents decided not to participate in the 2023 NFL Draft. Bora stated, “Consultants are very optimistic, and economists are very pessimistic,” in an apparent attempt at understatement.
Beyond the economic forecasts, however, something truly fascinating is taking place here. Although Kansas City has always had a distinct identity—barbecue, jazz, a certain Midwestern confidence—it hasn’t always had a worldwide platform to project that identity onto. More than 125 nations have signed up for the free FIFA Fan Festival in the city. In June and July, the Kansas City Aviation Department anticipates a record number of air passengers—more than 1.3 million per month. How well the city tells its story beyond the obvious will determine whether or not those tourists wind up meandering through the Crossroads Arts District, enjoying wine, tasting chocolate, and getting delightfully lost in the Power and Light District.
Kansas City seems to recognize that this is a unique opportunity. Major tournament host cities frequently discover that the long-term benefits aren’t the week of games, but rather whether tourists choose to return, whether the city makes an impression on travelers, and whether international media mentions linger. That kind of return is easy to waste and difficult to quantify. It calls for more than just logistical know-how. It needs a story.
It won’t be known until the last whistle blows and the economists begin analyzing the actual numbers whether Kansas City delivers that story and whether the 650,000 visitors actually show up. Mikel Ruder is currently juggling visitor schedules, hotel reservations, and the unique stress of a city that has made meticulous preparations but is still unsure of what will arrive.
