Kansas City is less than two years away from being in the international spotlight as a 2026 FIFA World Cup host city, and new KC2026 leadership is tasked with figuring out how to put on the large-scale event.
Following the sudden resignation of Katherine Holland last month, KC2026 — the nonprofit responsible for local World Cup event preparation — has named Pam Kramer as its new CEO.
Kramer told KCUR's Up To Date that her top priority as the new CEO is communication.
"We are very focused on getting information to constituents, to stakeholders, to the public, so that they can start to engage in a meaningful way," Kramer said.
KC2026 also named a new Director of Transportation, Jason Sims, who will be in charge of making sure hundreds of thousands of visitors can safely and efficiently navigate the city. Sims is the vice-chair of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.
Senior transportation advisor Julie Lorenz said they're focused on how to transport fans from across the world, many of whom might not speak English, across state and county lines.
"First of all, we are going to need to lease a lot of buses to move people around," Lorenz said. "I will say over and over again, we'll have a solid plan and lots of contingency plans, because things always change at the last minute."
The team will also work to establish park and ride spots to the stadium and base camps.
"There is the opportunity for legacy is to change the way we think about transit in our region," Lorenz said. "And I think that can set the plate for some long-term benefit."
In the last month, Mayor Quinton Lucas expressed concerns that not all board member's voices were being heard in KC2026, and that the board doesn’t represent the city’s diversity. Kramer said she is working to get more input throughout the process.
