Taylor Swift is pushing Kansas City into its 'golden era'

• Kansas City has seen its own Taylor Swift bump, as the superstar spends more time in the Midwest.
• Swift's presence has helped bolster a new "golden era" in Kansas City, one area leader said.
• In a post-pandemic shift, booming businesses and attractions are key for KC.

Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, had a rare experience recently: A fan encounter.

Lucas had just finished giving a speech to new mayors in Boston when one approached him, saying her teenage daughter wanted her to take a picture with him — and wants to go to Kansas City.

"I was like, 'that's rare, I'm not the most popular for 14-year-olds from the Pacific Northwest.' And she's like, 'but you are the Taylor Swift mayor,'" Lucas said.

That's part of Kansas City's new normal.

Swift's presence been one of the "biggest things" that's happened in Kansas City, Lucas said. "And I say that as a city that has recently won two Super Bowls, went to a third, had the NFL draft in town last year, is the smallest market in America to have the 2026 FIFA World Cup."

Indeed, a "historically great run" in Kansas City has been topped off by the world's biggest star deciding to lay down roots there. The staggering power of Swiftonomics has been well-documented, with her tour projected to gross over $1 billion, and its economic impact in the US projected at $5.7 billion.

In Kansas City, the Eras Tour meant $47.8 million in direct economic impact, according to Visit KC. In 2023, hotel performance was up from pre-pandemic levels, with revenue up 42% and demand up by 16% in downtown Kansas City.

"It's like we get a mini piece of the Eras Tour every other weekend with a football game," Lucas said.

Swift's arrival comes as Kansas City, alongside cities across the country, is still grappling with the mixed bag of the pandemic's economic fallout. Its population reached historic highs in 2020, surpassing half a million for the first time in 50 or so years, and it emerged as a hub for remote workers. A streetcar expansion and new airport terminal are all aimed at connecting more Kansas City residents and visitors; the city will also soon have the world's first stadium solely dedicated to a professional women's sports team, which will host the KC Current, a soccer team.

But Kansas City is also up against the urban doom loop that's been battering Midwestern cities, with activity in its downtown area still below pre-pandemic levels, according to one measure from University of Toronto researchers. As BI's Eliza Relman reported, the key to reversing some of the damage rests in policies such as adequate housing — and also downtown attractions that can lure people in.

Enter Swift.

"The local brands here in Kansas City have gone all in on Taylor Swift," Jessica Palm, the vice president of the Kansas City Area Development Council, said.

Local stores — including Westside Storey, which sold Swift the vintage Chiefs gears she's been sporting — previously told BI that the Tayvis boom has also been a boon for their bottom line. That Swift boom has been "thrilling for us," Palm said, especially when it comes to brand recognition and attracting businesses to Kansas City.

"That global reach, whether it's a game or brand recognition or Taylor performing, that's unmeasurable really for us," Palm said.

Swift's presence has helped reaffirm something that Kansas City has been trying to get people to realize: "Kansas City is like this cool, 'it' city now," Lucas said.

Swift adds what Lucas describes as a "badge of impressiveness" to the narrative that Kansas City is cool now. It's not just a "rando" or a friend from college saying KC is cool; it's instead arguably the most famous woman in the world. And that comes as more people are considering making the move to Kansas City.

"While we can't promise that each one will get to meet a Super Bowl-winning tight end and date him, maybe it turns out there are a lot of other great things in KC," Lucas said.

A Swift ripple effect

While Swift might be the most famous woman in the world, some of her impact has been a bit quieter.

After Swift's first foray into Kansas City this year while on the Eras Tour, Harvesters, a regional food bank serving 26 counties across northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas, received an email. It was from the pop megastar's team.

"They had reached out and said that Taylor Swift was interested in making a donation," Sarah Biles, Harvesters's director of communications, said. That donation — the amount of which Harvesters was asked to not disclose, but Biles said helped provide "thousands" of meals — came in pretty quickly.

"We were excited and thrilled that she had chosen to give to our food bank," Biles said.

That quiet donation, a practice that Swift continued throughout the Eras Tour, didn't receive much attention until after the emergence of Swift's new relationship with Travis Kelce, when the Kansas City Star picked up the story.

"Obviously the financial donation was amazing, but almost more impactful to that was the awareness that it raised," Biles said.

Swift's donation didn't solve all of their problems — food insecurity is still rampant, especially after pandemic-era food assistance programs wound down — but, much like Swift's broader impact across Kansas City, she's helped raise awareness of both the issue and organization, and push forward a new story.

Kansas Swift-y is just getting started

Swift's presence has meant some new shifts in Kansas City, like paparazzi, and superstar encounters in local haunts. Lucas, the mayor, said it's meant some security changes in ensuring that both her and everybody she's around are safe when navigating through town.

But on the whole, Swift's presence — and the exposure that comes with her — has been welcomed.

"This is the dawn of a golden era in the Kansas City region, not just from a lifestyle perspective, but from an economic standpoint as well. And we're just getting started," Tim Cowden, the president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council, said.

Palm said that Kansas City residents treat their local celebrities with respect and kindness, pointing to recent TikToks of Travis Kelce quietly shopping at Trader Joe's — with customers only erupting in cheers after he leaves.

Lucas said that he's watched a few football games from a suite next to Swift's at Arrowhead Stadium. In fact, he said, he's been occasionally offered the chance to go meet her. He may be the only person in America, or the world, who's politely declined.

"I'm like, she's busy enough! And the last thing she cares about is like, 'Hi, I'm the mayor. Thank you for being in this All-American city,' right?'" Lucas said. "We can save that for another time."

He said he's just going to let her have her fun at football games — although he has contemplated that posting an Instagram photo with her would "break" his Instagram, in a departure from posting about "mayor stuff" like filling potholes. However, he does have one offer on the table.

"If they need me to officiate a wedding or anything like that, then I'm there for 'em," he said.