State of Play Kansas City

With support from Children’s Mercy Kansas City, Project Play convened key stakeholders across the greater Kansas City region to analyze available data and make recommendations to improve access and quality of sports and physical activity for all youth. Recommendations and youth survey results will be released in fall 2024 with the State of Play Kansas City report.

State of Play Kansas City Summit
On April 8, we brought together elected officials, community recreation leaders, representatives from pro sports franchises (Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals and Sporting Kansas City), health officials, children and others. The event featured panel discussions, group brainstorming sessions, and a review of survey results of Kansas City-area youth. Speakers included Kansas City Sports Commission CEO Kathy Nelson and Jackson County Executive and Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer Frank White Jr. Media stories from the event

State of Play Kansas City Summit Agenda

Celebrating Kansas City
Kansas City’s rich sports history includes commitments to help all children gain equitable access to play sports and be physically active. Learn about impactful initiatives Kansas City leaders are currently doing and how to ensure this important work continues.

Unpacking Barriers to Access and Equity
From talking with adults across the community, Project Play heard the following themes as barriers to access and equity: transportation challenges, ineffective communication with families, lack of infrastructure to support youth with disabilities, lack of recreational opportunities, especially for older youth, and mental health struggles.

Data from State of Play Kansas City Youth Survey
Project Play is committed to centering the voices of young people in this conversation and hear their thoughts on sport preferences, rationale for participation in sport and the impact of physical activity and their mental well-being. Learn results from Project Play’s youth survey.

Youth Spotlights
The No. 1 strategy for Project Play is ask kids what they want. After all, it’s their experience, not ours. What do young people say is working in the Kansas City region? What would they like to see improved? Young people from across the community share their experiences and ideas.

Ideas to Move Forward
What are potential solutions to grow quality access to sports and physical activity for more children? Learn about the innovations already happening across the community and explore how we can amplify and scale.

Please reach out to ruby.avila@aspeninstitute.org with any questions about the project.