Reactions: World Cup coming to Kansas City

Mike Kehoe - Lieutenant Governor

“It’s bigger than anybody could imagine, the ripple effect from people seeing us globally, what a great community we are, what a great state we are, is almost unmeasurable in the economic impact, it’s going to be huge, Kansas City is going to be ready.”

“Kathy Nelson did a really good job putting the team together. She assembled two different states, different parties, rural and urban. I give great credit to her. We felt very good coming into the today but you never know. Sure was good to hear that name get called.”

“The hard work starts now, I told Cathy and Katherine, get a good night’s sleep because tomorrow you’re gonna have to start working your brains out. I know the communities will come together, the states will come together, public, private, governments, counties. We’re going to make this thing happen and it’s going to be Unforgettable.”

Mark Donovon – President Kansas City Chiefs

“I think two big things run through your head if you’re a part of our organization, the first is just how big this event is and the challenge that creates for us as an organization which were excited to take on but secondly, without Lamar Hunt none of us are here. You know for us that’s special, you heard it from Clark (Hunt).”

“Yeah, I won’t compare the two, but I will give you this impression that I got. So as you know, I get the opportunity to be in some special places and I’m always appreciative for that. So I got to stand right behind Cliff (Illig) and Clark, when the announcement happened. They’re very successful business, people, right? Neither one of them show a lot of emotion. It was like two kids on Christmas morning. I mean, it was huge fun to watch because it’s true pure joy. That’s what it means to them.”

“It’s just another example of the trend is city is on. You know, the NFL draft coming here was a big win. The World Cup is a big, big win, the championship games are great opportunities and we keep getting our special place on the map and getting great opportunities to expose people to what makes this town special and this is huge. We’re going to hopefully get even more than just the matches, right? To have teams have quarters here. Then you’ve got some countries coming to your city and experiencing what makes this place special and that gets you excited.”

Jake Reid - Sporting KC President and CEO

“Honestly, it’s surreal. I mean listen, if anyone thinks we knew, my emotions would argue differently, so It’s honestly hard to put in words. I don’t get nervous until I started reading the West list and I was like okay this is happening. What a great day.”

“I honestly think the in-person site visit to me was a huge difference. I mean, we showed up. We heard a little bit of feedback that they kept saying this, right. Like it’s clear. No one wants it more than you guys and I think that matters, right? I think if your FIFA, you come and you see the politicians on both sides of the city, you see the states both involved, you see the Chiefs, us, Royals, the Current that matters, right? I mean this wasn’t a check the box exercise and they remember that. That came out almost every time we got on the call they would almost laugh. Kansas City, trust us you are always the most excited. It’s easy to laugh at that, but that matters where you sit around a table saying, hey, who wants this, and who’s going to actually show up? We’re going to show up and I think they knew that.”

Peter Vermes – SKC Manager and Sporting Director

“I was chatting with a bunch of people from FIFA that were part of the presentation. They said that was the best presentation that we’ve seen. It’s not because somebody was a good speaker. It was just the evidence what we have here. Incredible infrastructure, unbelievable fan base.”

“It’s easy to tell somebody about it, but they don’t understand it until they’re living it. And when they get here, just like all the FIFA representatives that were here, I think it changed their mentality around this city.”