World Cup’s smallest host city aims to become a global sports hub

{"text":[[{"start":8.8,"text":"When Argentina and Algeria kick off on Tuesday, Kansas City will realise a long-held dream of hosting the World Cup born of an unlikely source: its Super Bowl-winning American football team."}],[{"start":20.85,"text":"The Kansas City Chiefs’ connection to the beautiful game is rooted in the National Football League franchise’s late owner Lamar Hunt, a pioneer of US professional “soccer” who fell short in his attempt to bring the 1994 World Cup to the Midwestern city. "}],[{"start":35.85,"text":"Decades later, the 2026 World Cup’s smallest host city is betting that this unique heritage and millions of dollars in investment will put the region on the map as a global sports hub."}],[{"start":47.05,"text":"“Financially, if you [do] a Harvard Business School case study, if you look at this just on paper, this doesn’t make business sense,” said Mark Donovan, president of the Chiefs. “But if you look at the impact it has on the community, the footing that it puts us on and the exponential benefits in the future of doing this successfully, it made perfect sense.”"}],[{"start":68.05,"text":"The high cost of hosting this year’s tournament has caused an outcry in many US cities, which have found themselves using taxpayer funds to subsidise everything from transport to security. Fifa pockets most of the billions of dollars in ticketing, media rights and sponsorship revenue. "}],[{"start":85.55,"text":"Yet for Kansas City the World Cup offers a rare opportunity to shine in the international spotlight despite the costs. The NFL team and the local government have invested more than $40mn to renovate the Chiefs’ home of Arrowhead Stadium — or “Kansas City Stadium”, as Fifa’s strict branding rules require it to be called — in preparation for the tournament. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":109.15,"text":"But Donovan, who leads the Chiefs’ business operations and oversaw the renovations of Arrowhead Stadium, admitted that the deal with football’s governing body “from a stadium venue perspective, is very, very favourable to Fifa”."}],[{"start":122.15,"text":"About 3,500 seats were removed from the lower level to accommodate the wider soccer pitch (they will be reinstalled for the NFL season). The stadium floor was rebuilt and a new grass field installed. All of the Chiefs’ branding and sponsorships were covered or taken down to comply with Fifa’s regulations."}],[{"start":140.45000000000002,"text":"Kansas City’s biggest event to date was the 2023 NFL Draft, but Donovan said the World Cup was expected to be “four to five” times that size. The city will host six games, including a quarter-final round match. Officials hope a projected 650,000 visitors and a $653mn economic boost will offset the almost $200mn in public spending required to stage the tournament."}],[{"start":166.3,"text":"Spanning two states, the Kansas City metropolitan area is the 31st-largest in the US, anchored by its namesake cities in Missouri and Kansas. While famous for barbecue, tailgating and the Chiefs, the region calls itself the “Soccer Capital of America”."}],[{"start":182.8,"text":"Kansas City traces its love of the game back to Hunt, whose passion was sparked by a trip to Dublin in 1962, where he and his future wife attended a Shamrock Rovers match. He went on to finance or own four different US professional soccer teams and was a founding investor in Major League Soccer, which debuted in 1996 and remains America’s top flight."}],[{"start":206.20000000000002,"text":"“[Hunt] felt strongly that the key to the MLS working in the US was soccer-specific facilities,” said Donovan. “He was so far ahead of the game in that.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":216.3,"text":"This foresight partly explains why four countries chose the Kansas City area for their World Cup base camp. Over the past 15 years, the region has invested $650mn to build first-rate soccer facilities and stadiums."}],[{"start":232.15,"text":"Argentina is training at the state-of-the-art complex of MLS club Sporting KC, while the Netherlands picked the new training centre of the Kansas City Current, a team in the upstart National Women’s Soccer League. England settled at the sprawling Swope Soccer Village and Algeria is using the athletic facilities at the University of Kansas, located about 40 miles away."}],[{"start":254.20000000000002,"text":"Pulling off a successful World Cup could unlock more opportunities for Kansas City. The Chiefs are building a new $3bn domed stadium scheduled to open in 2031, putting the region in play to host Super Bowls, college sports championship games and other major events."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":271.40000000000003,"text":"The promise of greater economic windfalls triggered interstate jockeying, culminating in a controversial deal for the Chiefs to leave their longtime Missouri home for Kansas, which offered a record $1.8bn in public funding. The billionaire Hunt family, which still owns the Chiefs, will cover the remaining cost."}],[{"start":290.40000000000003,"text":"“The Chiefs’ decision to move to Kansas puts our state on the map and sends a signal to the world that Kansas is open for business,” said Kansas governor Laura Kelly. “This is a monumental investment that enhances Kansas’s reputation, creates good-paying jobs and attracts tourists and young people.”"}],[{"start":307.95000000000005,"text":"Hosting World Cup knockout rounds is another milestone in the region’s broader push for exposure. "}],[{"start":313.80000000000007,"text":"“You look at the other cities that are getting quarter-finals and it’s a pride point for us to say we’re in that mix now,” said Donovan. “We’re the same as Boston, Miami, LA. We can play on that field.”"}],[{"start":331.95000000000005,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1781781027_2158.mp3"}