World Cup fan fests are scaling back. How KC’s funding needs hit ‘critical stage’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KC seeks immediate federal assurances and funding for World Cup security.
- KC warns plans fail without assurances to reimburse mutual aid officers' costs.
- Several host cities cut or reduce fan fests, citing funding and logistics.
Kansas City Deputy Police Chief Joseph Mabin said time is running out on federal funding for FIFA World Cup security and preparation expenses.
Mabin made that clear during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Tuesday in Washington D.C.
“The drop-dead date is immediate,” Mabin said. “We need commitments from partners to help supplement our officers just because of the scope, scale and duration of the games. They need assurances that they will get reimbursed for overtime, for travel expenses and for lodging. So we need that information right now.”
Kansas City is expected to get up to $80 million in federal funding for security and transportation as part of a $625 million Congressional package to support World Cup security efforts in the U.S.
Six World Cup games are scheduled for Kansas City, and the area will be home to four nations’ base camps. Argentina, the Netherlands, England and Algeria have announced plans to lodge and practice here.
More than 600,000 fans are expected in the Kansas City region in June and July, and a fan fest located at the World War I Museum and Memorial could hold up to 25,000 visitors for each of its 18 scheduled dates of operation.
But fan fests are being eliminated or reduced in scale in other U.S. host cities. Citing costs, officials in New York/New Jersey canceled their fan fest at Liberty State Park and are instead planning scattered celebrations across the two states.
Seattle has opted for a similar approach, creating a “distributed model,” with at least four locations throughout the city instead of one location.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Miami’s World Cup host committee CEO Ray Martinez said his city could be forced to cancel its fan fest if federal funding isn’t received in the next month.
U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, a Missouri Republican, said the funding could be affected by the current government shutdown that involves the Department of Homeland Security.
Kansas City, like other host cities, was to receive funding through President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Those funds would be administered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“Because the Kansas City budget is in trouble as it is,” Alford asked Mabin, “how is this holdup in funding affecting our plans to keep Americans safe in Kansas City this summer?”
Mabin responded: “We began planning full-time planning for this probably two years ago. We’ve taken into account multiple different contingencies. We have planning at the stadium, at the different hotel venues, at the fan fest, equipment, intelligence and just operationally.
“And as we have those plans in place, if we do not have people to execute those plans, then those plans are ineffective. And so right now, we’re in a critical stage where we need those funds committed and released, so that our mutual aid partners have assurances, and they can come in and assist us with just boots on the ground for those plans.”