Ingram's December 2022

2022 YEAR IN REVIEW by Dennis Boone Kansas City Claims Its Place in the Limelight Kansas City and the broader region took the first steps onto much bigger stages—national and global—with successful projects in 2022. On a global scale, it was with designation as a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Nationally, the ability to attract Panasonic Energy’s new $4 billion electric-vehicle battery plant will dramatically affect the local job market, with 4,000 hires by 2025—roughly 1,000 of them engineers. And the biggest development project in state history will unfold over the next four decades as the Golden Plains Technology Park rises in the Northland. There, one of the first clients in the mix is Meta, the parent of Facebook, which will fill nearly 1 million feet of data-center space. Kansas City’s economy has always been diverse; it’s what keeps us from the troughs of recessions and the crashes that follow national peaks. Developments like these, and others, add to those multiple layers of diversity, and provide additional economic stability. JANUARY 3 With Mayor Peggy Dunn breaking a City Council tie, Leawood approves one of its biggest development projects, Cameron Court. Though scaled back af ter neighbors raised objections to its scale, Oddo Development projects that the 116-acre mixed-use project near 135th Street and State Line Road will generate $300 million in investment, creating 833 residential units, mainly apartments, but also single-family homes, twin villas and brownstones. 31 Leawood-based C2FO, perhaps the biggest entrepreneurial success story of the past 15 years, closes a $140 million funding round. The fintech company has exploded across the globe as a platform to help companies manage their accounts receivable flows—$54.7 billion worth last year, up 57 percent from 2020. Is an IPO next? Founder and CEO Sandy Kemper says it’s not out of the question. FEBRUARY 17 BKD, the largest accounting firm in Kansas City, announces that it will merge with DHG, of Charlotte, N.C., to create FORVIS. With $1.4 billion in com bined annual revenue, the new brand will immediately claim a place among the na tion’s top 10 firms. It will have more than 5,400 team members across 68 markets in 27 states, the United Kingdom and the Cayman Islands.

2022 NEWSMAKERS

World Cup Coming to Town

The World Cup will put Kansas City on a world stage in 2026. An intense, years-long marketing effort paid off in June when FIFA, the international soccer organization, designated Kansas City as one of 16 host cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. That hard-won victory not only positions this region before a global audi ence, it will do so for a tournament expected to draw more eyeballs than any in World Cup history. The field in 2026 will be expanded to 48 nations, with 80 matches, up from 32 teams this year. Kansas City was the smallest U.S. market to make the cut, which included 10 other cities, plus three in Mexico and two in Canada. Cliff Illig, the Cerner co-founder who branched into soccer as part of the ownership team of what is now Sporting Kansas City, nailed the impact when the announcement was made on June 16: “The success of Kansas City’s bid is a testament to the accomplishments we can achieve when we work together," he said. " The World Cup will bring unprecedented tourism and economic activity to our community and will provide an opportunity to showcase our city on a global stage.” That economic impact has been estimated at $695 million. It might not be the biggest deal, in dollar terms, but the follow-on developments from that positioning could produce multiples of that number in the years to come. Kathy Nelson, of the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation, said host-city status would make Kansas City an international destination for sports tourism. “To be named a host city for not only the biggest single sport event in history, but as part of the most competitive selection process FIFA has ever facilitated, is an incredible accomplishment for our city, our bid committee and everyone involved.”

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I n g r a m ’ s

December 2022

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