KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - “Some businesses benefited considerably, others remained largely unaffected, and many reported declining traffic or sales despite extensive preparation.”
Most Kansas City-area restaurants reported lower customer traffic, declining revenue, and a negative overall business impact during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to a new survey from the Missouri Restaurant Association.
The association released findings from its 2026 FIFA World Cup Restaurant Economic Impact Survey, providing a comprehensive look at how restaurants and hospitality businesses across the Kansas City metropolitan area experienced the world’s largest sporting event.
The survey collected responses from 39 restaurant and hospitality businesses representing 116 locations across the region. Participants included independent restaurants, multi-unit operators, breweries, coffee shops, bars, and quick-service restaurants located throughout nearly every major business district in the metropolitan area.
Rather than focusing solely on regional economic projections, the study examined the experiences of individual restaurant operators, including customer traffic, revenue, staffing, promotions, operating hours, visitor activity, and recommendations for future major sporting events.
More than half of respondents reported lower customer traffic than expected during the tournament. Nearly six in ten businesses described the overall impact on their operation as negative. Fewer than one in ten described the experience as positive.
Revenue trends closely mirrored traffic declines. More than half of respondents reported an overall decline in revenue, and 30.8% reported revenue declines greater than 10%. Nearly 72% of businesses estimated less than $5,000 in additional World Cup-related revenue. Only five businesses reported generating more than $10,000 in additional revenue.
While individual business experiences varied considerably, the report concluded that the World Cup generated significant regional excitement and international exposure, but that the economic benefits were not experienced evenly across the restaurant industry.
One-third of respondents increased staffing ahead of the tournament, and approximately 34 to 40 additional shifts were added across responding businesses. About 30.8% extended operating hours. Of those, 81.8% reported that extended hours produced little or no meaningful benefit.
The survey stated the following were the biggest challenges for businesses:
- Lower-than-expected customer traffic
- Loss of regular customers
- Difficulty forecasting demand
- Limited visitor movement beyond official event areas
- Investments that failed to generate expected returns
More than half of respondents offered World Cup promotions, with watch parties cited as the most common strategy. Promotional efforts generated the strongest customer response on match days, particularly during United States matches.
The survey found that 41% of respondents observed at least some increase in international visitors, and 38.5% reported attracting customers from outside the Kansas City region. Many operators cited valuable opportunities to serve guests from around the world and participate in the excitement surrounding the event, even when financial outcomes varied.
Businesses most frequently cited meeting international visitors, increased activity during match days, and community excitement as the primary benefits of the tournament.
Respondents consistently emphasized opportunities to improve future planning through more localized business engagement, realistic forecasting, stronger promotion of neighborhood restaurants, and broader distribution of visitor activity throughout the metropolitan area. Survey respondents pointed to several specific areas for improvement:
- Realistic forecasting — Future projections should distinguish between total regional economic impact and the likely experience of individual restaurant operators.
- Expanded visitor distribution — Respondents encouraged organizers to connect visitors with restaurants throughout the metropolitan area, not only within official event zones.
- Stronger local business partnerships — Operators recommended greater involvement of local restaurants in official programming, vendor opportunities, and visitor guides.
- Improved public communication — Several businesses said local residents avoided restaurants due to anticipated congestion and parking challenges that proved less disruptive than expected.
- Continued outcome measurement — The association called for ongoing business-level data collection following major events to supplement regional economic estimates.
The Missouri Restaurant Association said it hopes the report will serve as a resource for policymakers, tourism organizations, event planners, chambers of commerce, and hospitality leaders as Kansas City prepares to host future national and international events.
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Source: KCTV Kansas City
