Kansas City approved up to $185 million to expand CPKC Stadium (Getty Images)
The approved ordinance authorizes debt financing of up to $185 million, with a critical condition attached: the Current’s ownership group must guarantee any cash flow shortfalls. This is not the city writing a blank check. An independent financial feasibility study is also required before a dollar moves. Mayor Quinton Lucas, who sponsored the ordinance, was clear on this point. The club carries the downside risk, not the taxpayer in the traditional sense.
FIFA is set to announce the 2031 Women’s World Cup hosts in November 2026. An expanded CPKC Stadium at 18,000 seats fits well within the range FIFA has used for previous tournament venues. Mayor Lucas made that connection directly, pointing to Kansas City’s successful hosting of six 2026 men’s World Cup matches at Arrowhead as proof of delivery capacity.
There is also a larger ambition in play. The United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica have submitted the only bid on the table. Nothing in the ordinance is conditioned on a FIFA decision. The expansion moves forward regardless. But the timing is not coincidental.
Compare that to the Royals ballpark deal approved three weeks earlier, where public support accounts for roughly 60 percent of Phase I costs with no repayment obligation from the team. CPKC Stadium opened in March 2024 as the first venue in the world built exclusively for a professional women’s sports team, funded by $140 million in private capital. The club was valued at $75 million in 2024. Forbes placed it at $325 million in 2026, second only to Angel City FC in the NWSL. Revenue climbed from $36 million in 2024 to $38 million in 2025, tied for the league’s highest. The Kansas City City Council did not approve $185 million in financing for a team that was struggling to sell tickets.
Because the Current demonstrated it could generate the sales tax revenue needed to retire the debt, they approved it.
“These women deserve to feel important and have their own facility so that they can perform at their best,” she said. The Current deal is structured differently, and that distinction matters for how seriously other cities will look at replicating it. The Current became the first NWSL club to sell out every home game in a season that same year, and has not stopped since. Brittany has spoken about why the venue mattered so deeply to her. “I hope this sets the bar for women’s sports everywhere and other cities continue to build around women’s sports. Just like young boys get to dream of playing football at stadiums like Arrowhead, I want young girls everywhere to aspire to play at stadiums like CPKC. ” The financial trajectory of the Current under this ownership group is hard to argue with.