Kansas City Area Development Council CEO Tim Cowden avers that Kansas City is on a historic winning streak, one that will set the stage for decades of future successes.

Cowden gave a speech to the Association of Corporate Growth in Kansas City late last month. Kansas City has a newly remodeled airport, the NFL Draft coming in April, in addition to strong jobs, housing and business investment.

Furthermore, the Kansas City Current is building the first women’s specific sports stadium, the streetcar is expanding, the FIFA 2026 World Cup is coming to town and Panasonic Energy Co. Ltd. is building a huge battery plant.

“It’s a fantastic time to be in our region,” Cowden said. “This is the golden era of Kansas City. I have no doubt that in 50 years, people are going to look back at this time and go, ‘Look at all the things that happened in Kansas City that really set us up for success.’ I truly believe that.”

Cowden said Kansas City is a top 10 city for foreign investment, and it’s also in the top 10 for migration gains, especially among youth, with Missouri, Kansas, Texas, California and Colorado as the top five states supplying new residents.

The city has the eighth-hottest job market, thanks to huge recent wins like Meta, Panasonic, Scorpion and many others, he said. Kansas City also has a top housing market.

Cowden touted the area’s high concentration of architecture, engineering and construction jobs, citing 70,000 people employed in a $24 billion industry. Half of the sports arenas being built around the world were designed by Kansas City companies, as well as 15% of the world’s power systems.

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