FIFA World Cup
Floor Speech
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Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I am joined on the floor today by my colleague from Missouri, Senator Blunt, and we rise today to welcome the FIFA World Cup selection committee to Kansas City and to express our strong support for Kansas City's bid to serve as the 2026 World Cup host city.
I express my gratitude to the leadership of Mayor Quinton Lucas and to the leadership of Kathy Nelson from the Kansas City sporting authority, the president and CEO.
Our community, our joint community--Kansas City, people may know, is on two sides of the State line--the Missouri side of the State line and the Kansas side of the State line. Sometimes we are rivals, but in many instances, we are allies and friends, and that is the circumstance we are here today.
Kansas City boasts a rich history of both professional and amateur sports. Kansas City is the home of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame; the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum; as well as the 2020 Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs; the 2015 World Series champions, the Kansas City Royals; and the two-time Major League Soccer Cup champions, Sporting KC. It is also the hometown of our world- renowned football coach, Ted Lasso.
Sporting KC has energized the region's diverse and passionate soccer fan base--a fan base that I am confident is ready to pack up their bags and head to Arrowhead Stadium, the loudest stadium in the world, to cheer on the U.S. men's national team and other nations that compete there.
Soccer has become an even larger part of the culture of Kansas City after U.S. Soccer's National Development Center officially opened in Kansas City, KS, in May of 2018. The NDC is the perfect location--the perfect location--for any team to recover, practice, and prepare for their upcoming matches.
Spanning more than 50 acres, this 81,000-square-foot, state-of-the- art practice, education, and medical facility includes three natural grass fields and two artificial turf fields, with a two-story coaching pavilion, and houses the Children's Mercy Sports Medicine Center.
Kansas City has been host to other major sporting events. The city regularly welcomes thousands and thousands of fans for events such as the Big 12 men's NCAA basketball championship and the NCAA March Madness and will be the location for the 2023 National Football League--the NFL--Draft.
Due to major investment in Kansas City's transportation and infrastructure--something that both Senator Blunt and I and our colleagues, Senator Hawley and Senator Marshall, have worked on--Kansas City is well equipped to support soccer fans from around the globe. They will be welcomed at a brandnew Kansas City International Airport, which is currently undergoing a $1.5 billion renovation restart for a state-of-the-art terminal that is scheduled to be completed in 2023.
In 2020, Kansas City also became the first major metropolitan area to offer bus transportation free of charge. Additionally, the Kansas City Streetcar offers free fares with stops just a short walk from many magnificent dining and dynamic entertaining experiences in Kansas City.
Early in my postcollege career, I had an office in downtown Kansas City. The circumstances of Kansas City today and that long time ago when I was a worker in downtown Kansas City are significantly different. The entertainment opportunities are immense--the arrival of a major, magnificent Sprint Center; hotels, new, large, elegant--all have arrived in Kansas City in just the last few years.
I am confident the entire Kansas City region is ready to make the 2026 FIFA World Cup a resounding success and is excited to add this prestigious tournament to its sporting history.
Again, we welcome the World Cup selection committee to Kansas City today and to the State of Kansas and to the State of Missouri. We welcome them. They are being welcomed to a world-class city known for its heartland hospitality.
I yield to the Senator from Missouri.
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