KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Last Saturday, Kansas City hosted the NWSL Championship — a major soccer event.
Still, ahead for the city is hosting FIFA World Cup 2026 games.
Even though the events might differ in size and location, Kansas City gained insights from the big soccer game.
With visitors from all over the country and the world, CPKC Stadium was, once again, sold out.
"It was a blast to be able to host so many different people from all over," said Dani Welniak, vice president of Communications for the KC Current.
Along with Stefanie Tomlin, vice president of Stadium Business Development and CPKC Stadium general manager for the Current, Welniak got to experience the event firsthand.
"To me, the idea is to welcome the world into our town," Tomlin said. "That's going to be a parallel path to the FIFA World Cup, when we're doing the same thing on a larger scale for many, many more countries."
Tomlin and Welniak believe there are many takeaways from the NWSL Championship that can help Kansas City prepare for the World Cup.
"I think from a marketing aspect, it's learning about a different fan base," Welniak said. "We also learn how to activate around our stadium and really engage the community in more ways than just the match."
Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas attended the match on Saturday.
Although he says most things worked as expected, he believes KCMO can improve in one aspect for the FIFA event: "We need to make sure that this is a World Cup that's truly for the entire community."
Tomlin says she believes the whole city was already involved.
"But there are always ways that we can expand," she said.
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