KANSAS CITY, Mo — Regardless of whether or not someone is a sports fan, the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming to Kansas City will impact everyone in the city.
It is a long-term investment in the city’s future, reputation, people and undoubtedly, economy.
According to U.S. Soccer, hosting the World Cup in North America will generate more than three to four billion dollars in net revenue.
Individual host cities can expect to make up to $480 million dollars.
Cindy Romo, the owner of Tacos El Gallo in KCMO, says as a wife of a soccer fanatic and a KC sports fan herself, hosting the World Cup cannot come fast enough.
“I think we’re ready, Kansas City is more than ready,” Romo said. “Regardless of the sport, regardless of the event, I feel that we do come together as a city and support each other.”
She says Kansas City has the business, infrastructure and security to be able to handle an event of this magnitude.
It has been done before during back-to-back World Series and Super Bowls.
“Having my location here so close to downtown, we were able to get most of the traffic,” Romo said. “For the Super Bowl parade, for the World Series parade, I mean we were slammed. It was unbelievable.”
Enrique Gutierrez, the co-owner of Teocali Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, says big sporting events generate a whopping 50% uptick in revenue.
Especially after going through one of the hardest times for businesses during the pandemic, any big event is helpful.
“I mean exposure is huge for us," Gutierrez said. "There’s so many small moms and pops shops here in Kansas City that thrive on any type of events going on, that we can eventually capitalize on.”
While the boost in revenue certainly helps, for both Gutierrez and Romo, it is more about putting Kansas City on a world map and gaining new faces.
“My husband and his family go to the World Cup in other parts of the world, and whenever they go, they come back with so many different memories and experiences of food especially,” Romo said. “It’s definitely scary, but at the same time, it’s what we live for, it’s what we want."
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