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Kansas City bid to be one of nine venues for the USA-hosted 1994 World Cup, a 24-team tournament, but fell short. It had the celebrity endorsement of Luciano Pavarotti. Arrowhead Stadium — home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, owned by American soccer’s great patron Lamar Hunt — impressed FIFA. But its soccer culture was barely burgeoning.

Dallas, where Hunt made his initial major impact on the American game in the NASL, did get to host in 1994.

Three decades later, both Dallas and Kansas City, both cities with the Hunt family’s backing, are among the USA’s 11 hosts for the 48-team 2026 World Cup. Two Canadian and three Mexican cities will also host.

Today, Kansas City is the world’s only city with soccer-specific stadiums for a women’s and men’s pro team. The Heartland Soccer Association prides itself as “America’s largest youth soccer league and tournament host.”

Kansas City will host six World Cup games. VisitKC estimates 650,000 unique visits based on total visitor days (defined as one visitor spending one day/overnight in the destination).

Last July, Pam Kramer was named Chief Executive Officer of KC2026 after serving as KC2026 Fractional Chief Operating Officer since March 2024. Kramer previously worked for the Chiefs and in 2021 served as transitional CEO during the NWSL’s Kansas City Current’s start-up phase.

She worked for Sprint, now T-Mobile, on its sponsorship team during the USA-hosted 1994 World Cup.

SOCCER AMERICA: What was the 1994 World Cup like for you?

PAM KRAMER: I went to all nine host cities and saw every U.S. match, which was pretty extraordinary, and I learned a lot. I did not grow up as a soccer fan or playing soccer, so seeing that first-hand really informed the journey. Certainly, the legacy of that World Cup is soccer in the United States. I’m very excited about this World Cup.

SA: Any memory that particularly stands out for you from the 1994 World Cup as you work on the 2026 World Cup?

PAM KRAMER: Of course attending the matches was memorable. But being literally caught up in a Brazilian fan march/dance — it was like nothing else. 

Most people will experience the World Cup not at a match, but through a watch party, or through getting caught up in a group of fans and the excitement. That’s an example of why we’re so excited about our FIFA Fan Fest [at the National WWI Museum and Memorial].

SA: Of course, there’s a huge demand for game tickets. I imagine since you’ve taken on this role you’ve gotten queries about getting tickets …

PAM KRAMER: My family sure has. [laughs] Their response is, “Get in line. We’re also wondering about that.”

It’s different here, I think perhaps than other places. This is the first time we as a region will host anything this big. In fact, it’s the first time anybody will host anything this big — because it’s the biggest version of the World Cup ever.

But for us as a region, we have not hosted a Super Bowl. We’ve not had the Olympics here. Certainly, we’ve had the NFL draft, and we’ve been building to this, but people here are most interested in making sure that we capitalize on the opportunity to show the world what we already know: That there’s something pretty special about Kansas City and the way we do things here and the way we operate.

SA: What do you do with ticket queries?

PAM KRAMER: We’re sending them to the FIFA website, where they can register with an expressed interest, and we share with them the timing that has been shared with us.

Beyond that, we are talking to people about host city supporter and donor packages, which include tickets and hospitality. So if they’re interested in being part of the effort, that is certainly part of the conversation.

FIFA is allowing us to sell up to 10 of what they call host supporter packages. They would include tickets and hospitality, but also rights to use our Kansas City host city supporter mark. That’s the first time they’ve ever done that.

SA: What are some on the things on your office timeline during the countdown to 2026 World Cup?

PAM KRAMER: Today we’re 492 days out, as my team would tell you, because that’s how we start every meeting — making sure everybody has a sense of urgency and awareness. FIFA provides some of those timelines. But then we also have timelines on top of it. The number of days and hours to Fan Fest: When do we have to know we have adequate safety and security staffing? When do we need to communicate about the expected number of visitors so that people can prepare?

When do small businesses need to know what languages they might need to be prepared for? How do small businesses access resources to help them get certified as a FIFA supplier? All of those things, in addition to safety and security and transportation.

SA: Kansas City is unique because it spans two states — Kansas and Missouri. I was listening to the “Smartless” podcast when they were going on about that …

PAM KRAMER: With Jason Bateman? I like that podcast. I’ll have to go back and listen to that episode. Was it with a Kansas City comedian? There are quite a few comedians with connections to the area …  Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, Ellie Kemper …

SA: The guest was Don Cheadle … Bateman was talking about the Kansas City sports teams and Will Arnett was giving him a hard time for not comprehending that Kansas City is in Kansas and Missouri. .. Two states being involved in World Cup-hosting must affect the planning process, right?

PAM KRAMER: It does. I think anytime you have multiple jurisdictions involved it adds a dynamic. Outside of New York/New Jersey, we’re the only host city that has that dynamic. But it is really being looked to as something that is uniting the region. And the bid was united.

There were folks who represented not only both jurisdictions, but business and civic interest from both sides of the state line. Now moving forward, we have funding from both states, which is very unusual. So both the state of Kansas and the state of Missouri have provided funding, as well as Kansas City, Missouri, the city, and Johnson County, Kansas, on the Kansas side.

And we think other jurisdictions will come to the table either in funding support or in-kind support. I think it speaks to the understanding of the opportunity. 

It really started with the honorary co-chairs, Clark Hunt, who you know his family owns the Kansas City Chiefs and MLS’s Dallas team, and Cliff Illig, the principal owner of Sporting Kansas City. They were the two chairs of the bid. They are able to unite people and galvanize people. It’s pretty incredible to me, the access I have to decision-makers, to people who can help us solve whatever challenges we might have because of the regional buy-in.

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• SA Reading: Big day for the Hunt family (By Paul Kennedy)

Clark Hunt, the chairman of Hunt Sports Group and Kansas City Chiefs and FC Dallas CEO, co-chaired the Kansas City 2026 bid committee while his brother, FC Dallas president Dan Hunt, served as chair of Dallas’ host city bid. Their father, Lamar Hunt (1932-2006), played a leading role in securing Dallas as a 1994 World Cup host city, including the recruitment of Tom Landry, the Dallas Cowboys coach for 29 years, to chair the bid committee.

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SA: It’s my understanding that for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA has more control over stadium operations, stadium seating and logistical arrangements than for previous World Cups. What are organizational and financial responsibilities of the host cities?