KC group seeks $28M for 2026 World Cup, talks Kansas impact
TOPEKA (KSNT)- A Kansas City non-profit is asking the state of Kansas to chip in more than $28 million for the 2026 World Cup.
John Federico, a lobbyist with consulting firm Duerst Consulting Group, spoke with lawmakers in the state's Senate and House Commerce committees on Monday about the city's hosting costs for the international event.
"The ask is for a floor of $28 million... capping out at $32 million," Federico said, during a meeting with the Senate Commerce Committee on Monday morning. "That request takes into account the $10 million that you allocated last year to allow Sporting KC to begin their efforts to renovate their field and do infrastructure work to make sure that they can host these events and host the crowds that come with them."
Federico said the estimated return on investment for the state of Kansas is estimated to be $163 million on the 'conservative end.'
WHAT IS "KC 2026"?
KC 2026, a group comprised of elected officials, civic and business leaders, will be managing the strategy and execution of the 'massive' event.
Kansas City is one of several "host cities." Thousands of people are expected to descend upon the metro area in the summer of 2026.
The event will feature a record 48 teams and 104 matches. Event organizers have branded it as the 'largest event in the history of the world.' Arrowhead Stadium is expected to host several matches.
Federico made his case to lawmakers on Monday, urging them to get the 'Kansas-side' of the state line 'in order.' Missouri has already agreed to pay $50 million.
"I don't think anyone can really appreciate the enormity of the effort to host this type of event," Federico said. "It's a historic opportunity... you have heads of state coming to your area... CEO's of the biggest companies in the world. There's a lot to it, and we're less than 1,000 days away."
"The bigger events are going to happen on the Missouri side and that's why they have the bulk of the funding request, but what can we do to make sure we are ready to make ourselves attractive to the best teams, so they pick Kansas as their home base camp," he continued.
POSSIBLE BASE CAMP LOCATIONS
Katherine Holland, executive of the KC 2026 organization, also spoke with lawmakers on Monday.
There will be several "base camps" established for teams. Holland said that Kansas' facilities will be at the 'very top' of the range of facilities offered by FIFA.
"Base camps will be where teams live and train, and potentially compete... if they're playing in a match that will be hosted in our region," Hplland said.
"I think the bigger opportunity here is... the quality of our facilities are high enough that it will justify a substantially higher rental fee. As you can imagine, you've got 48 nations that are competing... all of them have sort of different budgets. You've got the soccer powerhouses, like France and Germany and Croatia, that have a large budget to be able to invest in their team facilities... some small countries don't necessarily have that. So, FIFA will need to offer a range of training facility options."
"The training facilities in our region will be at the very top of that range. So, we can expect that they are going to attract major soccer powerhouses," she continued.
Holland listed possible training facilities ('base camp') locations in Kansas, during her presentation to lawmakers on Monday.
She said those include Compass Mineral National Performance Center (NPC) and Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City. Rock Chock Park in Lawrence and Buser Family Park in Manhattan were also listed.
GERMANY 'VERY INTERESTED' IN KANSAS
Holland said KC 2026 has it on 'good authority' that Germany is "very interested" in base camping at Compass Mineral NPC in the Wyandotte County area.
"If Germany does end up base camping there... we can expect... tens of thousands of fans to potentially take the 36 days off... come to Kansas City, Kansas... live there... play there... eat, drink... visit the attractions," she said. "They're going to want to base camp, where their team is practicing. Their team will offer some open practices... obviously, for media, but also for fans... so, the potential economic impact from those international tourists potentially coming and living around the team base camps is quite substantial."
"That's why I noted that the economic impact number is conservative, because knowing how many countries we'll have makes it hard to hone in...," she continued.
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
According to Holland's presentation, the overall cost of the event will be $165 million.
Kansas is asked to contribute 17% of the finances to cover the event ($28 million). 5.5% of the money would come from Kansas public sources ($9 million). Meanwhile, the majority of the money, 44.8% will come from the Missouri-side. $24 million, or 14.5% of expenses, will come from 'private support.'
"We are prepared to manage against any requirements, compliance initiatives... anything to be able to prove and track that the money that we're hoping to receive is essentially getting reinvested into the state of Kansas directly," Holland said.
Holland told lawmakers that this will be an evolving budget, as they await FIFA's "match schedule."
"When there's matches at Arrowhead, we need to make sure that we can get fans out there... when there are not... we need to make sure that we can get fans around the region to experience all that our wonderful region has to offer," she said. "This is our first attempt at sort of identifying where we might receive funds and which budget line items those funds could be allocated across."
FIFA will be releasing its match schedule for the 2026 World Cup on Feb. 4.