KCK cancels World Cup watch parties it had been promoting, blames low turnout
After holding a string of events in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, local government officials and Visit KCK have decided to cancel their three remaining World Cup watch parties.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK and the nonprofit that organizes tourism activities in KCK jointly announced this week that “significantly lower than anticipated” attendance has brought an end to their “Kick it in KCK” watch parties at Memorial Hall.
Visit KCK had initially planned nine watch parties between June 6 and June 24. Those events, save for one party celebrating a Mexico vs. South Korea match, generally garnered low turnout and were held on weekday afternoons.
Visit KCK anticipated having at least 500 people per watch party, but that wasn’t the case. During one weekday afternoon match, less than 100 people attended.
“While somewhat disappointing, we appreciate those who attended, supported and helped make the events enjoyable,” the organizations said in a joint statement. “There’s still more fun and excitement to be had in KCK through the rest of the tournament and summer.”
Visit KCK is asking that residents support other watch parties being held locally, such as at Sporting Park, the Rock Island Bridge, St. John’s Catholic Club and at local businesses, according to the statement.
Turnout varied
The June 18 match during which Mexico beat South Korea 1-0 brought the event series’ largest turnout with more than 650 people, according to Visit KCK. It featured street vendors and a street soccer tournament, and the FIFA Fan Festival was closed that day.
“The evening served as a high-energy finale to the series, highlighted by Mexico’s win and capping off one of the most vibrant and well-attended nights of the program,” according to a news release from Visit KCK.
Among the final three watch parties that they cancelled, two were weekday afternoon events, and one was an evening event when the FIFA Fan Festival would be open, meaning Visit KCK didn’t think it’d get the same attendance as it did on June 18.
“Fans are choosing to experience FIFA World Cup activities in different ways across the region,” wrote Ritz Dasgupta, a Visit KCK spokesperson, in an email. “There is the FIFA Fan Festival, watch parties, neighborhood gatherings, bars, restaurants and other community events across the metro area.”
Who paid for it?
The Unified Government did not contribute any public funds to host the watch parties at Memorial Hall, according to Visit KCK.
The nonprofit paid to host the events using a combination of its general operating funds and corporate sponsors.
Visit KCK declined to share how much it spent or made on the event series.
“As we did not publicly release budget, funding, or financial projections during the planning and promotion of the events, we do not plan to release those figures now,” Dasgupta wrote.
The organization said the parties were not meant to make money, but rather to give the community a downtown spot to watch matches.
Although Visit KCK is an independent nonprofit organization, the Unified Government contracts with it for its services, and some of its funding does come from transient guest tax revenues collected in Kansas City, Kansas, according to its website.
KCK as a city budgeted to collect about $6 million in transient guest taxes from its residents during the 2026 fiscal year. Transient guest taxes come from hotel and motel stays within the city’s limits.
Of the $7.2 million in expenditures that the city plans to make for travel and tourism, paid for using those transient guest tax revenues, almost $740,000 will go toward the city’s total contracted services for the year, according to the 2026 budget.
“As visitors continue to come into the region, we are encouraging people to explore Kansas City, Kansas, support local businesses, and keep kicking it in KCK all summer long,” Dasgupta wrote.
