2023 was a big year for Kansas City. The Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl in February. Taylor Swift’s two-night Eras Tour performance in July included an additional song in her set and a new music video debut to accompany her release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” The city went all out for her stop, creating a lineup of Swift-themed events. But perhaps the most unexpected high for the city was when Swift showed up at a Chiefs game in September, making her relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce public. Swelce — or Traylor, or Tayvis — brought renewed worldwide attention to Kansas City. Mayor Quinton Lucas says Swift’s given Kansas City a big reputation — one that doesn’t have anything to do with the Wizard of Oz. With this relationship, he says Kansas City is in its superstar era. “I happened to be in Paris this year for the Rugby World Cup. There was a woman from the Foreign Service in New Zealand who said, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re from Kansas City,’” Lucas said. “She’s like ‘Taylor Swift, right? And she’s dating some not-very-famous footballer.’ Like, actually, he’s kind of a big deal for us.” VisitKC says the city made about $200 million just from Swift’s eras tour this summer. After her relationship with Kelce went public, StubHub reported that ticket sales for all Chiefs home games tripled for the rest of the season. Derek Byrne, a spokesperson for VisitKC, says it’s opened a lot of doors for the city to promote itself. “Even if Taylor Swift’s name isn’t in some of the work we’re doing, it is still giving people a reason to think of us a little more seriously,” Byrne said. According to an analysis by Google Trends, searches asking, “Where is Kansas City?” more than doubled in the U.S. over the past three months and search interest in local restaurants skyrockets each time the couple visits one. Even searches for flights based on the pair’s travel patterns out of Kansas City, are rising.
Source: KCUR News
