We'll be right back. We'll be right back. The fun's not done after Monday with the morning. Hey, it's Kevin Keats for join me for uncancelled at 10 o'clock right here on KCMO stock radio. We got some news this morning about the World Cup fan festivals happening here in Kansas City. Pam Kramer is the CEO of KC 2026 as we close in Kansas City. We're going to talk about the World Cup action gets underway. Pam, Good morning. Thanks for being here on KCMO. What is the fan fest information you can share with us this morning? Well, good morning, Pete. Thanks for having me and happy nine years on KCMO. That's a big milestone on our milestone today. It's a big moment because registration is officially open for the FIFA fan festival in Kansas City, which includes free pass and free pass. We're going to be doing a lot of things. We're going to be doing a lot of things. We know people have been waiting for that. They've asked us when they can register when they can get that free pass in today's the day. So really exciting, starting to feel like we're rolling towards the World Cup. It's it'll be here before you know it. So is there a place where people can go to get more information on this and sign up for these things? Yes. So KC 2026.com lots of things. We have a link where you can go to the link where people can go to the process, pick the days they want to attend, see those different options and then get those passes and download them to their wallet. So how are we expecting if you were to compare it to say the NFL draft, which was the most recent big fan festival we had here in town, how will how will that be similar and how will that will that be different from what we had here in town just three years ago? Yeah, great question. So there are some similarities. So is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is the region and experience all that we have to offer. It will all be on the south lawn. This is a much longer activation period, right? We have 26 days between our first match in Kansas City and our last match. And when you add on those first days of the tournament, that's a month that fan fest will be up and operating. There will be 18 days in that month that will be open. And the World Cup is so different. So the NFL draft, while a great experience, you're not watching the sporting event there, right? It is, you're watching who's going to what team. This is where fans will come to watch matches, where they will come to see what Kansas City is all about, and where the heart of the World Cup will really be. So it is the best way to experience the World Cup outside of the stadium and the intersection of global soccer fan passion and what we love about Kansas City. So I'm seeing it right now. You know, 18 days within those several weeks will be fan festivals. And are those 18 days guaranteed to be game days? They're not all game days, obviously, here in Kansas City, but they're all obviously around games happening for the World Cup or not necessarily. That's right. They're all on match days. The six match days here in Kansas City, all of those US matches, and then some other either key match days or days that we know people will want to be a part of the tournament experience while leaving some of those what we would call a plus match days open. So the first England match as an example, fan fest will be closed. We know there will be other watch parties around the region, but we do want to make sure that for those key matches that the matches here in Kansas City, the US matches and some of those other marquee moments that people have a chance to experience the authentic World Cup. Right. Well, I gotta ask because I know people are going to be wondering. So there is a free part of this. There's also a premium guarding pass and there is a legacy lounge pass. What do we what are we looking at cost wise for the big ones? Yeah, the vast majority of the passes are free. So the capacity, as I said, is anyone time is 25,000 that legacy lounge is limited to 500. So we want to make sure that that most of the capacity is dedicated to free entry. But the legacy lounge is $225. It is food and beverage included. There's an air conditioned space. It's got great sight lines. You know, if you want to guarantee that you'll get in because the capacity is limited and when you have free not everyone will be guaranteed to get in that legacy lounge or the premium garden are great options. So that's $55 that offers exclusive food and beverage options, guaranteed entry, a premium viewing area. So something for everyone. But the vast majority of the capacity will be for free general admission. Okay, and you can buy those passes now, right for the premium garden or legacy lounge. You can you can go in same website Casey 2026.com. You can reserve your general admission passes, your premium garden or the legacy lounge. Are you expecting the general admission to be lottery based? Or do you think that if you sign up for a day, you're going to be able to get in as long as you're signed up. So it's free and that's why we want everyone to register. It's first come first serve based on capacity. So that's where that if you want guaranteed entry, that's where the premium and legacy passes come in. We know on some days we will reach capacity, but we also know people won't stay the whole day. So, you know, if we're open six hours or, you know, eight hours for a fan fest, we expect that people will come and go. So there will be capacity will fluctuate throughout the day and we'll message that as we go. I think those marquee matchups the six match days here in Kansas City, the US matches, certainly the matches for the teams that are base camping and playing here. We expect those to be higher demand. But we we hope everyone has a chance to experience the fan fest and those costs are per person right that you gave earlier. That's right. Okay. All right, great. And then what about the other watch parties around Kansas City? When do you expect to have some of those announced? I think in the in the probably next two weeks, you'll start to see some of those announcements. I know we are hearing from some of our partners that they have applied for those public viewing licenses from FIFA. So working through that with the networks, we expect that certainly in the next, I would say 10 to 14 days, lots of other lots of other watch parties will be announced. Okay. And are those going to be a similar model where it's going to be signed up early along with paid options or is this just unique for Kansas City because of location and size? I think it depends on who is hosting the watch party, right? This is the official the fan FIFA fan festival is the official host committee watch party. And by the way, we're not all fan festivals across the tournament or free Kansas City is one of just a handful that has been able to provide that free access. So we're really proud of that. It's very important to us because we do want people to be able to experience the World Cup while it's here. We want especially local people to show who we are and experience the World Cup at the same time. But the other watch parties, I know some are contemplating free summer community events, summer with our sports partners. So I think we'll see more detail as they get closer to announcement dates. Pam Kramer is the CEO of KC 2026. The World Cup countdown is on 69 days to go until the World Cup gets underway here in Kansas City. All right. So with 69 days left, Pam, what is what is the thing keeping you up at night? Well, you know, I think I've said this before that the two things that we cannot control our time and novelty, right? And so we can't stop the clock. It is starting on June 11. I feel really good about where we are. But we haven't done this before. Nobody has done something this big before. It's the biggest version of the biggest sporting competition in the world. So what we're really focused on right now is testing and exercising every plan we have. We had a good operational workshop with FIFA with our law enforcement partners with our venue partners a few weeks ago, walking through transportation plans, thinking about all of the interrelated parts. And I'll give you an example, you know, with four teams base camping here on that first match day in Kansas City, which is June 16. All four of those teams will be moving England will likely be flying to wherever their first matches the next day. The Netherlands will be training so they'll be moving the two teams, Argentina and Algeria playing at Arrowhead will be moving. We could have the president of Argentina in town. The complexity of that just from a transportation police escort perspective is complex. And that's just one sliver of the big picture. So making sure that we are walking through all of the planning with the partners contemplating where intersections are happening literally and figuratively and contingency planning where we can. All right, last thing then Pam with in the final minute or so when it comes to other cities and how they're doing and oh, Kansas City has gotten high marks from the White House and their people who are obviously monitoring all these different cities that are hosting World Cup games. How do you think we stack up based on what you're hearing and the preparation that obviously you've been a part of here for over a year at this point? Well, I have always been a fan of, you know, not promising, not over promising things, but I can tell you our fan fest is going to be the best in the tournament and that is not just something I'm saying it's something that the national media is saying it's something we're hearing from our partners from, you know, certainly the sports media. So it is one way that we are leading and I think we're doing that in lots of ways. Certainly the base camp situation. I had lots of calls from people after those are announced saying, what are you doing there? Like what's going on in Kansas City? And I think at the heart of it all is just that there is a real unified effort around putting our collective best fit forward. So it's, I get to be the one out front on it, but it's a bunch of people working like crazy behind the scenes. All right, Pam Kramer, thank you very much for the time, Pam. Appreciate your time as always. Thanks so much. Thanks, Steve. Bring the girls down to fan fest. They are ready. They got the stickers. They're fired up. So it's going to be a great time to be in Kansas City. Great. Have a good day. All right, you as well. Thanks so much. Pam Kramer, the CEO of KC 2026 on KCMO Talk Radio. Full send golf. You guys know how much I really, really love golf. I think every week would be dope to post on the golf channel. I want to get a lot of guests on here. Salim's going to take leave. I'm down to be in it. It's not really work to play golf. Join the party on the golf course. I was like, let's go to the range. 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