Clark Hunt, Cliff Illig: How KC proved itself as a FIFA World Cup host city
Four years ago, Clark Hunt and Cliff Illig embraced at the watch party when Kansas City was announced as a FIFA World Cup host city.
On the eve of the final game to be played at Arrowhead Stadium this World Cup — a quarterfinal match between Argentina and Switzerland — the principal owners of the Chiefs and Sporting KC and World Cup honorary co-chairs, stood together responding to questions at a press conference that essentially became a victory lap.
“This was our moment on the international stage, and we’ve not missed seizing that moment,” Hunt said.
Some of the benchmarks to measure success won’t be available until after the tournament, but to Hunt and Illig, Kansas City delivered. From safety and security, transportation, volunteer network, FanFest at the World War I Museum and Memorial and the countless other details required to stage the world’s biggest sporting event, the smallest U.S. market to host games proved up to the challenge.
“Kansas City has always felt like it had a lot to prove,” Illig said. “And I think we’ve done a pretty good job of proving it through the way we’ve hosted, the way that we produced the games and the experiences that everyone’s had.”
Those experiences extend beyond the games, which have packed Arrowhead with the colors of the participating teams. The “Oranje FanWalk” was a highlight, with 36,000 orange-clad fans celebrating with Dutch followers along Grand Blvd. Televised games at FanFest and the Power & Light District, attracting fans, especially those of the U.S. and Mexico.
“The fans that came from someplace else, they brought a lot of energy,” Illig said. “And I think Kansas City did a pretty good job picking up on that energy and reflecting it back at them.”
Kansas City was an unsuccessful candidate for World Cup games in 1994, the last time the event was held in the U.S. Hunt believes it won’t be another three decades before the nation again lands the quadrennial event.
“First of all, we were disappointed that it took 32 years to get the World Cup back,” Hunt said. “I would bet that it’s much sooner than 32 years before we see it back in the U.S.”
Hunt, whose interest in soccer originated with his father, Lamar — founder of the Chiefs, and AFL and major contributor to the growth of American soccer — has attended 12 World Cups. He’s been to eight games in this year’s event, and the Argentina-Switzerland game will be the second he’s attended in Kansas City.
He believes the region’s success in staging the games and the base camps for Argentina, England, Netherlands and Algeria, will alter perceptions of Kansas City.
“This is no longer flyover country,” Hunt said. “Kansas City is on the map nationally and internationally. Those of us here have understood that for a long time. A lot of great things happen here in Kansas City.
“We just now had a chance to show the rest of the world what a special place this is, and people from all over the world will be talking about Kansas City for decades to come.”