KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chainsmokers drew thousands to Kansas City's Crown Center area Sunday night for a FIFA Fan Fest make-up concert. For many locals, the energy felt like a preview of what a new downtown Kansas City Royals stadium could bring to the city.
Royals fans gathering at Midtown's Tower Tavern said the World Cup excitement has them optimistic about the future of downtown Kansas City.
"It's electric down here," Kristie Zimmerman, a Royals fan, said. "I've just loved so much just having fans in town, other countries in town, and being able to show them what downtown is about."
David Allen, another Royals fan, said the events have demonstrated the city's readiness for a downtown ballpark.
"I think we're proving that we do have the infrastructure to have people down there," Allen said.
Back in April, the Kansas City Royals announced a plan alongside Hallmark Cards to bring downtown baseball to Crown Center.
The mixed-use development is expected to create a "reimagined" headquarters for both the Royals and Hallmark in the area.
The more than $3 billion plan, which the Royals will cover 2/3 of, will build out 85 acres across Crown Center and Washington Square Park.
With a new downtown Royals baseball stadium near Crown Center in the works, FIFA Fan Fest events offer fans a glimpse into what future game days could look like in the area.
"It really is just a thing that can produce momentum and keep the ball rolling," Kansas City sports fan Chris Jackson said.
On Friday, the Kansas City Streetcar Authority announced it broke the highest single-day ridership record in the system's history, with 39,000 riders. In one week in June, the streetcar logged nearly 200,000 passenger trips — 196,284 in total.
Allen said the infrastructure milestone reinforces confidence in the downtown stadium plan.
"I think we're off to a good start," Allen said.
Fans also pointed to changes in bar hours of operation as a factor driving more foot traffic to the area.
"Having different bars that are open now, the later hours, I don't think that there's been any more chaos, but it has driven more population down here, which is awesome," Zimmerman added.
Jackson said the World Cup has served as a model for what Kansas City can build on going forward.
"Understand that this was a specific opportunity to take advantage of, and if we have a new downtown stadium, that's another opportunity to learn how to make that part of how people have fun, have a good time, and have pride in their time," Jackson said.
He added that the transition away from Kauffman Stadium does not have to mean a loss for longtime fans.
"If you do it right, there's gonna be something that replaces that thing that they grew up with that they had and take that space and treasure it as they did before," Jackson said. "It's not going anywhere. It's just gonna look slightly different."
Jackson said the momentum built around the World Cup is the kind that can carry into the next chapter for Kansas City sports.
"It's not a flip-a-switch and it happens kind of thing, but I could sort of be really an anchor, and people could realize that things like this are possible," Jackson added.
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