Soccer bros should look the other way. According to an American Hotel and Lodging Association survey that was released this week, the World Cup hype might be, shall we say, “overblown.” According to this association survey, 80% of respondents say hotel bookings are tracking below initial forecasts.
It gets a bit worse when you look locally. 85-90% of Kansas City area respondents report bookings pace below expectations and. . . “trailing a typical June or July without any major events.”
Cue the Homer Simpson meme of disappearing into the bushes.
This is just confirmation that government and economic development people lose their absolute minds when they get involved in sports. It is nearly every single time. I used to get my kicks out of reading economic impact studies of Chiefs training camp in St. Joseph. Just made-up economics, just like we’ve been fed on the World Cup, stadiums, and a host of other small and big sporting events.
Some local college professor busts out a HP financial calculator and spews some wild numbers with a multiplier and the government is off to the races. Any person with some common sense can take a look at the total expenditures for these events and see that they do not pay off in economic terms. Almost always. Yet here we are again.
Now, if you think it is worth it for civic pride, then that is another argument, but don’t mix your economics with the ego or social needs of the area, because they don’t go together.
I love where we live. But what person would think vacationing in Kansas City in July for outdoor events is a great idea. Former Major Leaguer Ichiro Suzuki probably summed it up best: “August in Kansas City is hotter than two rats (procreating) in a wool sock.”
I softened the language, but you get the point.
Mother’s Day weekend is forthcoming to all those that celebrate. My mother was a good one. Probably not going to argue with everyone on social media if she was the best, but good, nonetheless. She died 12 years ago. We all miss her and wish we could be arguing about what restaurant and lunchtime would suit us all for a Mother’s Day gathering.
Anyone who has read this column might not have trouble believing she was a realist. In fact, if possible, she’d reach out of her grave and probably attempt to slap me upside the head for making current Mother’s Day about her or me.
She was a lefty and you had to keep your eye out for that southpaw coming at you like a scud missile. So, onward I will trudge.
That’s a joke folks. She only tried that “scud missile left” once, but I’m a quick learner, and she missed on that one. Calm down, I lived.
I’ve tried to follow the upcoming Platte County elections, and it has completely confused me. I’m not sure who’s running or who supports who at this point, but I can tell you that Platte County has supplanted Clay County in the “what the hell is going on” level of Northland politics.
Clay County dominated the local Northland scene for years in this category, but Platte County has obviously upped their game for 2026. I suppose there is an award or something at some point.
(Guy Speckman can be reached booking World Cup rooms)
