KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The FIFA World Cup pulled about 680,000 visitors into the Kansas City region this summer and left behind roughly $570 million in direct spending, according to a new tally from VisitKC, the area’s tourism agency.
The crowd count beat the group’s forecast of 650,000 by roughly 5 percent. The money fell short of the $650 million VisitKC had projected, largely because fewer international and long-stay guests showed up than planners expected. The count covers trips into the city between June 11 and July 19, so a fan who left and came back would count twice.
The spending figure reaches across nine metro counties in both states. On the Missouri side that means Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass; in Kansas it covers Johnson, Wyandotte, Leavenworth, Douglas and Miami. Food and drink made up a big share, helped by bars that stayed open into the early morning hours during the tournament.
Hotels across the metro booked more than $119 million in room revenue from mid-June to mid-July. Short-term rentals added $15.6 million, with bookings up 16.5 percent from a year earlier.
Travel numbers set records too. Kansas City International Airport screened 24,266 departing travelers on July 12, its busiest outbound day ever, and the KC Streetcar carried more than 838,000 riders over the course of the event.
The city put about $200 million in public money into hosting. Mayor Quinton Lucas has pointed to the tournament as a selling point for chasing more big events, including the NCAA men’s Final Four and two 2031 world championships, one in women’s soccer and one in men’s rugby.
Section: More Kansas City MO business news
Filed under: Kansas City MO Business News
