2026 Kansas City World Cup may benefit Columbia economically
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
FIFA announced Thursday that Kansas City will be one of 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup, an international soccer tournament that draws fans from around the world.
With a large international event coming to Missouri, the whole state is preparing for tourists from around the world to come to the Midwest. Other cities in the United States chosen as host sites include Seattle, the San Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta and Houston.
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe played a key role in helping Kansas City with the application process. Kehoe said Thursday that the World Cup will likely have an economic impact on cities within a 150-mile radius of the host site.
"You're talking about Joplin, Springfield, Branson, Lake Ozark, Columbia, St. Joe," Kehoe said. "The economic impact in those communities will be unbelievable, not to mention what will happen in Kansas City."
The Boston Consulting Group released an economic impact study on the World Cup, which projects the 2026 World Cup will bring in $5 billion for the North American countries hosting and create 40,000 jobs. After accounting for the costs of preparing for the tournament, the study projected each host city will bring in $90 million to $480 million.
Megan McConachie with the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau said this is the biggest event to happen in Missouri in her memory, and Columbia is preparing to bring in tourists from it.
"Being so close to the host site means that there will potentially be travelers from countries all over the world who we can try to capture as visitors," McConachie said.
McConachie said any big event that may attract tourism has a positive economic impact on Columbia, so the bureau plans to start talking to hotels now to start planning logistics.
"We don't know too many specifics about that yet, but as it gets closer I think it's going to be a really exciting time," McConachie said.
Columbia soccer fans like Adil Hamadto are already excited for the World Cup to be in Missouri.
"Kansas City has always been like a nearby town to me, but I never thought the whole world would come and play soccer nearby," Hamadto said.
