KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In part two of a KSHB 41 News exclusiveanchors Dia Wall and Kevin Holmes met with several Kansas City, Missouri officials to discuss a host of topics surrounding the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft.

Wall and Holmes spoke with KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas, Chiefs Chairman Mark Donovan and KC Sports Commission Chair Kathy Nelson.

In the second part of the roundtable, they discussed the logistics behind planning for the NFL Draft.

Holmes: So what’s the cost of putting on such a large scale with this? Who pays the bill?

Lucas: Don’t admit it! [Lucas said as he laughed]

Nelson: Well, I mean, the costs will fluctuate, of course depending on the things we can do in kind, and I want to keep that number maybe a little close.

Holmes: Give me an idea. Give me wide range, wider range than Arrowhead if you must.

Nelson: Let’s say it’s a few million to put that.

Wall and Holmes: A few million? That’s all?

Nelson: Well, the NFL will pay for most of that, and then the city will step in with lots of in-kind services.

Wall: Honey, Kansas City is gonna love this.

Lucas: Well you know what. I will say this. While we’re happy to do that, you know, if you’re a big major league city, that’s the kind of stuff you bring in, and the benefits of that that you get from doing business, both other communities articles are essential for us.

Holmes: We often talk about the airport. It opens about a month before the NFL Draft. We are talking about the expansion of the tramway. But as a resident of Kansas City, I have to tell you that a lot of people are wondering about the roads now. What infrastructure tweaks we may not be aware of?

Lucas: Well, I will say particularly on roads and infrastructure, we have quadrupled our spending on resurfacing and repaving. It’s something we’re proud of. Tens of millions of dollars are invested in improvements. You’re going to see that throughout the summer, and we’ll continue the kind of basic government service delivery. The way I really see it is that someone who flies at KCI and is going to experience the NFL Draft is going to see a new airport, with wonderful services. If they’re staying downtown, in the plaza, anywhere in the area, Missouri or Kansas; I think they’re going to see an excellent infrastructure network put in place. If they want public transport, we have it, certainly Ride Share. And others will play a role. I think that’s something we can be extremely proud of.

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