Twelve years later, Graham Zusi still gets choked up talking about the emotions he felt after the U.S. soccer team triumphed over Ghana in the FIFA World Cup, and he saw scenes of hometown fans celebrating in the Power and Light District in downtown Kansas City.
Graham Zusi, former Sporting Kansas City superstar, speaks during a World Cup panel conversation at nbkc bank; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
“For Matt Besler and I — two Kansas City guys — it was the biggest sense of pride,” the former Sporting Kansas City superstar told a crowd through tears Thursday during a “Bank on Your Goals” panel conversation at nbkc bank.
With this summer’s World Cup now less than 100 days away, Nia Webster, assistant director for the Kansas City, Missouri, Neighborhood Services Department and one of Zusi’s fellow panelists, is ready to look back with the same fondness at Kansas City’s time in the spotlight, she said.
“That’s how I want to feel when this is over, because — I swear to God — I’m tired,” explained Webster, who also oversees KC BizCare, which is working with KC2026 to prepare small businesses for the anticipated 650,000 visitors from June 16 to July 11.
“But that will make it all worth it, knowing and hearing from the business owners, seeing us on the global stage, seeing the businesses being represented,” she continued. “I want to feel like that.”
Panelists share a laugh with Nia Webster, with the city of Kansas City, Missouri, during a World Cup panel conversation; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
Not yet on the other side, Webster and Zusi — joined by Derek Byrne, director of content strategy for Visit KC; and Mollie Lathman, managing partner at McLain’s Market + Bakery — discussed expectations during the nbkc event.
“I believe Kansas City can and will be the site in this World Cup that people walk away from being the most impressed,” noted Nate Bukaty, panel moderator and a Major League Soccer commentator who hosts the Heart and Goal podcast with Zusi. “And it’s not because we have the greatest transportation infrastructure. It’s not because we have the fanciest hotels or any of those things. We have a lot to offer, but it’s because of the heart that we have in Kansas City.”
Nate Bukaty, panel moderator and a Major League Soccer commentator, speaks at nbkc bank; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Kansas City residents shouldn’t be concerned that the city isn’t large enough to host an event with the magnitude of the World Cup, Bukaty said, reminding the crowd that when the World Cup goes to Germany, games aren’t just played in big cities like Berlin.
“When it was in Brazil (where Zusi and Besler played in 2014), it went to (Manaus) where they had to build a stadium,” he continued. “And the plan when they built it was ‘We’re going to build a stadium, and then we’ll have it become a prison after the tournament’s over.’”
“People are going to come to the birthplace of sports architecture here,” Bukaty said of Kansas City, noting that 13 of the 16 stadiums where the World Cup will be played this summer were designed by KC-based firms.
The most authentic aspect of Kansas City soccer fans need to experience: its small businesses, Webster noted.
“It’s authentic places you can go eat, play, and have a good time,” she continued. “I can only imagine what happens after the World Cup, what Kansas City looks like and how people view us, and really, how they view our small businesses.”
“I know for a fact that our small businesses here can absolutely (make visitors feel welcome),” Webster added. “There’s nothing I need to train them on for that. I just need to make sure that they’re ready. And I just need to get people to their doors and I need people to know that they exist.”
Opening doors for small businesses
Webster updated the crowd on some of the city’s initiatives to help boost visibility, including the Open Doors! Program and the Outdoor Dining Trail.
Nia Webster, with the city of Kansas City, Missouri, speaks during a World Cup panel conversation at nbkc bank; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
“It’s hard to know how to prepare for something you’ve never experienced,” she shared. “Then how do you make sure you create opportunities from that? That’s something we are just going to have to stumble upon until we really figure it out. But we are doing everything we can with the little bitty resources that we get to figure out how to continue to support small businesses, not just for the World Cup, because the World Cup won’t be the last thing.”
It’s been a bit of a challenge to identify vacant properties for the Open Doors! program, she noted, plus find small businesses that create enough revenue to fill the spots, which highlights the lack of resources to help them get to the next level. However, the program is one Webster hopes extends beyond the World Cup to help with getting — and keeping — small businesses and creatives downtown.
“Especially as we grow as a city with major development, it becomes unaffordable for them,” she explained. “We talk about affordable housing, but we don’t talk about affordable commercial buildings or affordability for our business owners. It’s the same thing.”
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The city has already created a map of businesses that received grants through the KCMO’s Outdoor Dining Initiative, Webster said, describing an effort to bring more attention to the city’s investment.
“We are going to market them and make sure people get to those businesses — that we supported and invested in — during the World Cup and beyond the World Cup,” she continued. “And how do we do more things like that?”
A small business task force appointed by Mayor Quinton Lucas created a comprehensive business plan alongside Webster’s office to explore how the city can create more opportunities to improve access to capital, beyond grants, she noted.
Mollie Lathman, managing partner at McLain’s Market + Bakery, center, discusses her small business’ plans for World Cup; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Magic in the personal experiences
Lothman — whose family has owned McLain’s for more than a decade, encompassing Kansas City championships across the professional sports spectrum — said she has seen firsthand the impact teams can have on the success of small businesses like her bakery operation.
“My family bought it in March of 2014, and in October of 2014, the Royals went to the playoffs,” she explained. “And I think almost every year since, we have had some team from Kansas City go to a playoff, win a championship, get a trophy. It’s astonishing what they can do for a local economy.”
To get ready for the influx of visitors this summer, Lothman saidm she and the marketing team at McLain’s have been doing a lot of scenario planning.
“We’ve just been thinking, really, in terms of big ideas,” she noted. “Those can always be pared down, but to be less surprised by things, I think, is better.”
Their cake team — a crew of 20 people — is prepared to create anything custom that people might need, Lothman said. While they will be working on creating unique, large-scale items, they also want to have smaller, affordable items that anyone can indulge in.
“And we want to be able to provide things for the average family who has four kids and wants to come in and buy a bunch of cookies,” she continued, “and not break the bank but have something fun. So we’re constantly working between those two things, trying to figure out how to make the best of both worlds.”
McLain’s’ first priority during the World Cup is guest experience because the personal interaction of any purchase is the magic, Lothman said.
“In this day and age, you don’t get a lot of positive ones,” she added. “It’s kind of silly when I’m like, ‘We make life’s moments sweeter,’ but that’s our goal.”
Staffing across six locations is somewhat of a concern, Lothman noted, as the metro area prepares for the projected half-million visitors. But the summer timing provides an advantage for hospitality businesses, she noted.
“Summer tends to be a slower time of year for us,” Lothman explained, “and when a lot of our employees are actually wanting extra hours, when people are coming back from college and high school students are looking for work. So in about May, we’ll look and see where any stores have deficits and start building up from there.”
Digging into data insights
Now that Kansas City knows what teams will be based here — Argentina, the Netherlands, England, and Algeria — and what teams are scheduled to play here — Argentina, Algeria, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Ecuador, Curacao, and Austria — insight on who will be visiting the city is trickling in, noted Visit KC’s Byrne.
Derek Byrne, director of content strategy for Visit KC, offers regional insights related to the coming FIFA World Cup; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
“We’ve seen a higher spike in flight bookings from Latin America than any other city,” he continued. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve gotten to learn a lot about why international visitors are interested in the Kansas City area. From Latin America, specifically, they are much more budget conscious travelers than the average traveler from Europe. And so Kansas City’s reputation as a more affordable city than Los Angeles or New York has gone a long way for that.”
But businesses shouldn’t just be focused on catering to international visitors, Byrne said, as many fans from around the Midwest are also expected.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people in our entire region to experience a World Cup in their own backyard,” he explained. “So we have both the privilege — but also the responsibility — of serving these visitors that will be here for the very first time from Austria and Argentina and also people from Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas who love soccer and want this to be a once in a lifetime opportunity for them, as well.”
Visit KC has received some early flight and hotel pattern insights from travel data firm Sojern, Byrne shared, including that 48 percent of World Cup travelers to the United States have currently booked their flights for eight nights or longer and three percent have booked hotel states for three nights or longer.
“They may be going from city to city and still be deciding which cities they’re going to be in,” he continued. “This company has historically seen a 45-day surge in hotel bookings. So I know that is uncomfortable, but the truth is that is just what traveler patterns look like for people making this once-in-a-lifetime decision and investment. They are going to be deciding what cities and then where they’re staying within those cities even a little bit closer to the event.”
Whether international or domestic, Byrne noted, the visitors will be looking for regional attractions on both sides of the state line.
“They’re interested in restaurants, bars, and things to do all throughout the area,” he explained. “We would be hamstringing ourselves if we said you have to come to Kansas City and stay on this side of the state line or stay in this municipality. That’s not how people want or need to experience our community.”
“So I think it is totally reasonable to expect that it’ll be pretty spread out and kind of diffused throughout the area in terms of where people are going and where they’re spending their time,” Byrne added. “If people are staying for multiple matches, they’ll have free time between game days. If they’re going to the Fan Fest, they might not be out there for an 8-hour day, and they’ll be looking to fill their time with some other things, as well.”
