SerpApi.Org
Tucked back off 63rd Street and up a small incline, it would be easy to miss the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Building.
That might be one reason why England’s Football Association decided to use part of it during the World Cup. The team slept in Prairie Village at the Inn at Meadowbrook, spent its days training at Swope Soccer Village and then had players and coach Thomas Tuchel take the short trip to the Parks and Rec building for interviews.
England’s Media Centre (their spelling) was in a space used by the District Maintenance Staff for a month. The FA made the area its own by plastering its logo all over the room, from the walls and doors to a dart board that was brought in to continue a tradition of players competing against media members before a news conference.
The “Three Lions” logos are all gone now, relegated to a closet inside the building.
“It’s sad, but now I can rest up,” said Heidi Markle, marketing and events manager for the Parks and Recreation Department.
Because of England’s practice schedule, there were no set off-days inside the Parks Department, except when the team flew to play a match in another city. There was often media availability on weekends and Markle even worked on her birthday.
But it was all worth it, and not only because she was given an autographed Jude Bellingham jersey as a gift after the international media sang her happy birthday.
“It was amazing,” Markle said. “I did not know what to expect at all. I had minimal interest previously or knowledge of football or soccer, right? It’s difficult to comprehend how popular and important these players are because none of us here were like, ‘Oh, that’s cool. You know, Harry Kane’s gonna be walking in or Jude Bellingham.’
“It didn’t really mean anything to us, because it’s not the Chiefs, right? But to learn all of this through the process and how amazing these players are, and how the actual you know FA is and everything that they do and how the team comes together. I mean, this was all just a lot of learning for all of us.
“But everyone kind of took it in stride and was like, ‘Oh, OK, I guess they’ll be here’ because they were only here maybe a dozen days throughout the time frame. So I’d have to tell everyone, ‘Hey, today’s a media day. Please park your car in the back, leave space up front for the media.’ And then they’d all kind of peek out and like, ‘Which one’s the players? I mean, you’ll be able to tell. But yeah, a big learning curve. But we all really enjoyed it and just felt honored to be able to host them.”
England’s media had it pretty good in the building. A barista from Fika Coffee provided fee hot and cold drinks and McClain’s Bakery made 500 cookies (or biscuits as they say across the pond) with the “Three Lions” logo. On some days, there also were free meals.
The FA in January originally zeroed in on the Southeast Community Center for the Media Centre, because of the proximity to Swope Soccer Village. But given the heavy usage there during the summer, it would have been impossible to keep the branding in place for six weeks.
So the focus shifted to the Parks and Rec building.
“Anna (Bush) from the FA, she’s the one who I worked with because she’s in charge of their media,” Markle said. “So she and I worked hand in hand in getting that set up. They had several site visits. The various rights holders came in and checked it out. Sky Sports came in early to check it out. The branding people came in to do all the measurements and set everything up.”
While the Parks employees steered clear of the Media Centre, a Taste of England Day was held there when England was playing in another city. The employees got sausage rolls, tea boxes and sat on the dais where Andy Walker, Team England’s communications lead, held news conferences for a player.
The employees got a gift from the FA and shirts from the Parks Department with its logo on the front and a soccer ball on the back that says “Where the World Plays.”
“That was a fun way to kind of connect the staff that’s especially out in the field or working at other locations to the Media Centre and to England, and just kind of understand what was actually going on,” Markle said.
The employees also got to play with the dart board, which was left behind, as was much of the branded stuff. The England players also signed a jersey that will be on display in the building.
It will serve as a reminder of the role the Parks Department played in England’s stay in the World Cup. Not that anyone associated with the department will soon forget it.
“What gave me the biggest thrill every day was when Andy was up on the podium,” Markle said, “and he’d be like, ‘Here we are at the England Media Centre at KC Parks.’ He would say that, and that gave me a big thrill.”
