clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

With Manchester United Coming To New Arrowhead, Kansas City Making Its Case To Host FIFA World Cup

New, 3 comments

Kansas City is making its case that it deserves to host the World Cup.

It started back when Clark Hunt of the Chiefs expressed interest in hosting the 2018 or 2022 games at Arrowhead Stadium, one of the largest stadiums in the Midwest. Kansas City is still in that bidding process today. The perception of Kansas City as a soccer town continued when ESPN cameras showed 30,000 12,000 fans in downtown Kansas City, the second largest watch party in America, when the USA played Ghana.

Not a bad promotion for your city, right?

With soccer in Kansas City trending upwards because of the World Cup and the world's most popular sports brand, Manchester United, coming to town, Kansas City and Arrowhead Stadium are making another statement that they're ready to handle the World Cup.

Wizards President Robb Heineman recently came out and said the reaction to Manchester United playing the Wizards on July 25 at Arrowhead was so great, that more tickets have been made available.

"Fan response for our match against Manchester United has been tremendous," Wizards President Robb Heineman said. "The great crowd we are expecting Sunday will reinforce that Kansas City is a premier soccer city and that the New Arrowhead Stadium will make an ideal host venue if the FIFA World Cup comes to the United States in 2018 or 2022."

I'm not sure why those tickets weren't available in the first place but it's drawing more publicity to the excitement surrounding Kansas City with Man U coming to town so consider it a good thing.

A press release issued on Wednesday focused on the pro-soccer feel around Kansas City as of late.

The Manchester United match provides another opportunity for Kansas Citians to show their passion for the sport as part of the highly successful Summer of Soccer. Over 30,000 soccer fans gathered for World Cup watch parties in the Kansas City Power & Light District. The crowd for the USA-Ghana Round of 16 match was shown live on ABC’s game broadcast and seen by over 15 million people in the U.S.

Watch for these PR efforts to continue. Kansas City definitely wants the World Cup in one of those two years coming up in the next decade not only because it would bring in nice revenue for the city but it would increase soccer awareness in Kansas City which is something both the Wizards and the Hunt family would like to see.