Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe wants $40M more for Kansas City World Cup effort. Is it enough?
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe wants $40.5 million in additional funding for Kansas City’s World Cup efforts, his office announced Tuesday – a proposal to bring the state’s total investment to upwards of $110 million.
The big question now is will it be enough?
The sprawling soccer tournament will test Kansas City like few events ever have, drawing hundreds of thousands of soccer fans, many of them from outside the United States. The six matches, which will take place across several weeks in the summer of 2026, represent an extraordinary undertaking that will tax the security, lodging and transportation capacity of the region.
No rail transportation exists between Kansas City International Airport and downtown, a major obstacle that remains a key concern of organizers. Organizers will likely rely on more buses – at least 200 – to shuttle visitors, as well as the aid of rental cars, ride-share and taxi companies.
Matches will also require a bevy of security personnel and police. The sharp influx of visitors may raise general public safety concerns across the metro as well.
Kehoe’s request for $40.5 million, tucked into a $53.7 billion state budget, represents a significant increase in Missouri’s financial commitment. The state has already approved about $70 million.
“I can’t speak exactly to if I think that’s enough yet,” said House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat. “I haven’t seen the big picture of where everything is going and what’s required.”
Aune said she is grateful for the state’s investment in the World Cup effort and that making the city safer and easier to get around, as well as a more enjoyable experience for visitors, is key. She called the investment “really important” – signaling that the request is likely to receive bipartisan support.
Kehoe’s administration estimates that roughly half of the governor’s request will go to enhanced security. However, his team was unable to immediately specify whether that meant funding for the Kansas City Police Department or other agencies.
While Kehoe included the funding in his budget, the governor made no mention of the request in his State of the State speech on Tuesday afternoon.
The governor wants another large chunk of the request, roughly $17 million, to go directly to KC2026, the organization spearheading the World Cup effort that’s led by civic and business leaders from across the region. KC2026 has a total budget of over $100 million.
Budget documents have previously pegged the nonprofit’s transportation costs at $18 million, with Kansas and Missouri each expected to contribute $7 million toward transportation specifically.
Permanent transit solutions would cost substantially more. A light rail line between downtown and the airport would cost billions. Rapid, dedicated bus routes could cost upwards of $480 million.
The remaining money in Kehoe’s request would pay for the promotion of the event.
KC2026 said in a statement that it looked forward to continuing to work with “local, state and federal partners” ahead of the event.
“The magnitude and scale of hosting the FIFA World Cup present an unprecedented opportunity for the region. Funding support is essential to planning for and delivering on the opportunity and we thank Gov. Kehoe for his leadership and ongoing support of our efforts,” the statement said.
‘The world stage’
Kansas City-area lawmakers were still sorting through the budget request to determine if the funding was enough. The General Assembly will ultimately decide whether to approve the funding – and how much to include.
Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Lee’s Summit Republican, expressed support for the funding, saying Kansas City will “be on the world stage.”
“We gotta make sure it goes well,” Cierpiot said. “And so we’ve got to take the professionals’ word on it, but security is a real thing in this modern world. So it seems like, if that’s where the money’s going, it’s certainly worthwhile.”
While Kansas City-area lawmakers generally expressed support for the funding, Kehoe’s request will also have to receive backing from lawmakers across the state. It’s unclear whether it will.
Rep. Ben Baker, a Neosho Republican, said he’s typically careful approving taxpayer money “on entertainment and things like that.” However, Baker signaled that spending funds on the World Cup could be a good investment.
“The World Cup obviously brings an economic boon in a lot of things,” he said.
Congress may still pitch in, too.
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, with Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat, last year introduced legislation that would have created a grant program to provide states, cities and tribes pay for permanent transportation projects, such as new roads or light rail, ahead of the World Cup or Olympics.
Moran has previously said that World Cup organizers are seeking around $625 million for efforts nationwide, including around $20 million for Kansas City.
The program would be administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The legislation would also authorize USDOT to aid cities and states with World Cup planning and facilitate the sharing of buses and other equipment between cities.
The congressional session ended without passage of the bill. But a Moran spokesperson said the senator is working toward reintroducing the measure.
