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Metro momentum: Kansas City gains steam across multiple sectors
If diversification makes for a healthy portfolio, the Kansas City metro area is accumulating a robust one.
Developments across a broad swath of sectors reveal growing momentum, with the region's services expanding alongside to offer support. Looking at and beyond the reverberations of being a host city for next year's FIFA World Cup, game-changing initiatives promise to reshape Kansas City during the next decade.
At a discussion sponsored by JE Dunn Construction and moderated by its Kansas City office director, Jeff Blaesing, panelists from a sampling of those arenas — sports, health care, the arts, economic development — described what's planned, anticipated effects, and how Kansas Citians can get involved.
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'ROWING TOGETHER'
When the Kansas City Area Development Council urges businesses to expand or relocate to the area, the economic development organization leans into the diverse options across its two states, 18 counties and 50 cities, said Samatha Jefferson, KCADC vice president.
'You have a lot of choices,' she said.
There are different lifestyles, from urban to rural; a range of affordability; big city amenities with smaller town quality of life; and easy accessibility via plane, train, vehicle or river. The city also boasts a strong workforce that is well-educated and loyal.
It's when the region flaunts those combined assets that Kansas City truly stands out, panelists said.
'We are very intentional about representing one KC and speaking of one region,' Jefferson said. 'What is good for one part of our region is good for everyone.'
Regional collaboration won Kansas City its World Cup bid, even though it's the smallest host city, said Pam Kramer, CEO of KC2026, the metro's World Cup organizing committee. And regional collaboration will continue making a difference.
'We need everyone rowing together to capitalize on the opportunity,' Kramer said.
The metro must meet requirements such as safety and security, transportation, and hosting a FIFA Fan Festival, which will be at Kansas City's National WWI Museum and Memorial. But organizers also hope to use the platform to showcase Kansas City's assets, such as its numerous sports teams; talented workforce, exhibited via the 6,000 local volunteers needed to help with World Cup events; and business opportunities, highlighted through a KC House trade mission event planned for foreign heads of state and C-suite executives in town for the World Cup.
Expecting about 650,000 people in a 45-day span, KC2026 has been communicating with roughly 50 small business support organizations about resources that will be available to help small businesses, as well as to find out what small businesses need. The organizations then spread the word to small businesses, with additional information following once it's clear which countries will come to Kansas City.
Kramer hopes the model created for hosting the World Cup can be a blueprint for future large, regional events.
'At the end of this, I hope the headline is, 'How did the smallest host city become the heart of the World Cup?'' Kramer said. 'Presenting that unified front and showing that everybody benefits — when we do that, I think it will be one of our greatest legacies.'
'A DESTINATION FOR HEALTH CARE'
World-class health care forms yet another of the area's draws.
The University of Kansas Health System is in the midst of bold moves that not only strengthen the health system but promise groundbreaking care for patients.
But it's been the culmination of 25 years of efforts — a strategic change following a low point when it was turning over a third of its workforce, notching one of the lowest patient satisfaction scores in the nation, hosting more medical students and residents than patients in beds, and maintaining about 30 days of operating cash, said Brenda Dykstra, the health system's chief strategy officer. A market research study helped spark the recalibration.
Fast forward to today, and KU Health System enjoys nationally recognized specialty programs and record performance metrics. It brings a $7.9 billion annual economic impact, said Dykstra, citing a study the health system commissioned in 2023, before an expansion into Liberty.
'We care for patients from every county in Kansas, almost every county in the state of Missouri, every state in the nation, and almost 30 countries internationally,' Dykstra said.
The greatest future challenges are space, recruiting workers, and finances, she said.
'We have a dream to become a destination for health care, and we think that we can make that a reality,' Dykstra said.
Current highlights:
The system's cancer program recently broke ground on a building on the main campus that will, for the first time, put researchers and clinicians in the same space. That proximity is critical to discovery, to bringing therapies to market, and to putting patients first, Dykstra said. Specifically, the building is for cellular therapy — the most advanced type of cancer treatment — which uses a body's own cells to fight cancer, yielding fewer side effects and better outcomes. 'We will see this transform the way that we deliver cancer treatment,' Dykstra said.
Planning continues for a similar effort to put neuroresearchers and clinicians in one building to help advance discoveries in brain health, studying conditions such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Geographically, KU Health System has made acquisitions in Olathe and Liberty to expand its footprint in the metro area, bringing academic knowledge and expertise closer to where people live. 'One of our biggest challenges is making sure we have capacity to grow,' Dykstra said. 'We have demand right now and a wait list that we can't satisfy.'
The system has an economic development group focusing on its headquarters campus in Kansas City, Kan. The group ensures that the health system can influence what happens in the vicinity.
CULTURE AS GLUE
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art's efforts to galvanize cultural institutions in the heart of Kansas City also followed an epiphany.
About a decade ago, the museum hired architects for its expansion. They noticed that the area boasted plenty of walkable institutions, but nobody walked.
'There were a lot of elements that I was just paying attention to for the first time,' recalled Julián Zugazagoitia, the museum's director and CEO.
Now, as the streetcar route extends toward the art museums and the World Cup promises an influx of visitors, the area's cultural institutions hope to work together to capitalize on the walkable opportunities.
The Nelson-Atkins has reached out to peers, exploring ways to encourage density and connectivity, as well as access and visibility. Specific to the World Cup, the museum plans a special exhibition about artists who also are athletes, Zugazagoitia said.
Even as it explores near-term efforts, the Nelson-Atkins continues with projects intended to add fluidity, balance, capacity and interest to its campus.
'In a way, just like the hospitals, we are not satisfying all the demand that we have,' Zugazagoitia said.
The museum's attendance has doubled during the past 10 years, its big events draw new people who become repeat visitors, and cuts to education budgets mean more demand for hosting school children.
'We are trying to do a museum that changes the perception of what a museum is, and that also makes it more your own museum — a sense of belonging,' Zugazagoitia said.
THE PERSISTING LABOR QUESTION
Panelists recognize that the workforce isn't static; local companies need a pipeline of qualified workers to continue thriving.
'It starts with workforce,' Blaesing said. 'It's a constant battle, and that is our only limiting factor.' Finding good people and training them within a company takes time, panelists said.
The University of Kansas Health System has had to get creative to find enough workers. For example, it no longer requires a high school diploma for certain positions. However, it partnered with Kansas City Kansas Community College on a GED program and lets employees use work time to pursue their GEDs. Some have continued their education beyond that program, which can be transformative for families, Dykstra said.
Industry needs to be in school buildings, from K-12 schools to colleges and universities, communicating the message that trades have great career potential, Blaesing said.
Companies also must convince the adults in kids' lives that viable options include the trades, not just college, Jefferson said.
The KCADC aims to put Kansas City on the radar of young workers. Among its efforts: Bringing influential architecture, engineering and construction educators from across the nation to Kansas City to see what it's like, the companies available, the innovation, and the career potential. The KCADC hopes such efforts will shift the balance in favor of Kansas City when students get offers from multiple places, Jefferson said.
Artificial intelligence has been a buzz word lately, with alarm that it will replace human workers. But it should be viewed as a tool rather than a threat, said Zugazagoitia.
'Let's think, 'How can we use the tool and also bring knowledge to it so we are faster, we are better?'' he said. 'The talent we have around shines, because it is the talent that will control the AI tool.'
