KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - With 16 days until the World Cup kicks off, teams will be arriving in Kansas City within days — and the city is getting ready to welcome them.
Hotel and home rental bookings remain below what some were hoping. Short-term rental research company AirDNA shows 55% of available short-term rental listings have been booked on June 16, the day of the first group stage match in Kansas City. Defending champions Argentina will be taking on Algeria.
One downtown bar is going all in anyway. The Quaff on Broadway closed Monday and Tuesday to get spruced up. Staff locked the doors Tuesday as workers moved ladders from room to room.
Booths and high-top tables were filled with boxes of soccer balls in bright colors for various nations. Servers saved their breath to inflate beach ball versions in black and white. There were soccer string lights and flags of all varieties.
“We have some Messi posters in the back,” general manager Ali Eaton said to a group gathered around. “We can hang those up. We can give some away as well.”
The group decorating session comes a day after a more basic spruce up. On Monday, they did a deep clean and put a fresh coat of paint on the bar and walls. With 80 years in business, they’re not going for new — but fresh and festive.
KCTV5 asked server Bergen Cooper what she was most looking forward to. Her answer did not include a wad of cash from tips.
“Just meeting people from new places, learning their culture, getting to serve them and show them a little bit of Kansas City,” Cooper said. “Just being a good representation of the Quaff and Kansas City is most important.”
Beverage companies showered them with World Cup-themed swag that they have stacked neatly for giveaways. Happy Meal-shaped boxes printed with soccer designs are filled with themed trinkets of the toy store variety.
Cooper said she and her colleagues aren’t worried about whether the hype will pan out. The plan is to staff high, then adjust lower if needed. It’s a business that’s used to adapting.
“We’re not worried because we have a lot of family Quaffers in the area that will come out and support and we can spend time with them if nothing else,” Cooper said.
Kansas City’s city council recently agreed to let bars in certain entertainment areas stay open until 5 a.m. during the World Cup with an approved security plan. Eaton said the Quaff applied and got approval. They aren’t posting hours yet. Eaton intends to play it by ear once they gauge turnout.
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