Kansas City's first World Cup game kicks off in three months, and organizers are working in high gear to make sure the city is ready to host the biggest event in its history.
They're coordinating with the four teams – Argentina, England, the Netherlands and Algeria – that will base their operations in the region during the tournament, and hosting other national teams who might play a match in town and want to tour facilities and accommodations.
They're organizing thousands of volunteers to prepare to welcome fans, making sure small businesses are ready for the influx of guests and finalizing details for the city's fan fest. They're also preparing for "unprecedented" security needs.
The city was awarded nearly $80 million from the federal government to pay for extra personnel and safety preparations. But three months out from Kansas City's first game on June 16, police and organizers say $59 million has yet to be distributed – and they don't know when it will come.
"The drop dead date is immediate," Kansas City Deputy Police Chief Joseph Mabin said in a Congressional hearing last month. "We need commitments from mutual aid partners to help supplement our officers, just because of the scope, scale and duration of the games."
More than 650,000 people are expected to visit Kansas City during the course of the tournament. The city will host six matches, four team base camps and 18 days of fan festivities. The scale of the event will require more resources than the city normally has to go off without a hitch.
The Kansas City Police Department's World Cup plan includes barring officers from taking vacation and activating the National Guard. But they'll have to work overtime to meet staffing needs, and contract with other police departments to make sure enough officers are on hand.
"Kansas City is the smallest market among the 11 U.S. host cities, yet we will operate one of the largest overall footprints," Mabin said.
The $59 million, Kansas City's share of a $625 million FEMA grant program, is earmarked to help the police scale up for the event. It will pay for overtime and officers from other police departments.
The money was supposed to be distributed by the end of January. But the distribution was delayed, and the Department of Homeland Security, which runs FEMA, is now shut down.
A spokesperson for the Kansas City Police Department said there's no expected timeline for the money to arrive. Kansas City urgently needs it to ensure smooth planning, but Congress has made limited progress oward ending the monthlong funding lapse that's stalling the process.
U.S. Representatives Mark Alford, a Republican representing Missouri's 4th District, and Derek Schmidt, a Republican representing Kansas' 2nd District, earlier this week called on the Department of Homeland Security to release the funding.
"Democrats in Congress are once again failing the Kansas City metro region by holding this federal funding hostage," Alford said in a statement.
Other U.S. host cities are reconsidering their ability to throw World Cup celebrations without the funding in hand. In Miami, planners say they need the money by the end of March or they'll have to make "tough decisions" regarding the city's Fan Fest.
But in Kansas City, organizers say that's not a concern, and that planning is on track.
"We understand the timing from the law enforcement partners, they want that certainty," KC2026 CEO Pam Kramer said. "And so we continue to advocate for that as soon as possible."
Kramer says the robust support for hosting the World Cup in Kansas City is making things easier.
"We are very fortunate to have great local and state support, as well as private support. And so being able to plan with confidence has always been a strength of ours," she said.
While planners wait on the federal government, Missouri is taking action to help them get the money as soon as possible.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe signed a $3.1 billion supplemental spending bill Wednesday that includes the $59 million in World Cup grants – paving the way for the money to go right out the door as soon as it comes in.
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