Mindy Hargesheimer (00:00:00):
Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Kansas City Bucket List podcast. I am Mindy, your host, and I am thrilled today to have one of my favorite people that I've met here, Dani. We, she is the vice President of Communications for the Kansas City current, and she and I have a really energetic and passionate discussion about, um, all things soccer in this incredible city that we have. We talk about the history and the making that the Kansas City have had, um, in the city, in the industry that is quite literally spreading across the world in terms of what they are doing to impact women's soccer and sports. We talk about, of course, the World Cup coming here the summer. Uh, we talk about how the Netherlands chose their training complex as their base camp, which is huge. Um, and we talk about the incredible experience that you, your family, your kids, everybody can have at a Kansas City current game, if you know, you know, and if you haven't been, you have to go. Um, this is a really, really fun conversation about a topic that we're all so intrigued and excited about right now. So thank you for tuning in and listening, and I hope you enjoy.
(00:01:08):
Well, thank you for coming onto the podcast. Thank
Dani Welniak (00:01:10):
You so much for having me. I'm so excited. Like this is such a blessing and I always enjoy, um, everything that you do and how you just uplift this community and you really put a spotlight on people who are important in making a difference. So I don't even feel like I deserve to be in those conversations. Oh
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:24):
My gosh. Stop. But thank
Dani Welniak (00:01:25):
Thank you.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:25):
Thank
Dani Welniak (00:01:25):
You. I'm so excited to chat with you today.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:27):
No, and I'm honored to have you here. And I was actually thinking before you came in, I'm like, your energy and your positivity and your smile and everything, it's like in person over text, over email. You just feel it from you and like how much you love what you're doing with KC Current. Of course. That's what we're gonna be talking about today. , um, case we didn't make that clear right off the bat. But, um, this is huge obvi, like the timing right now to talk about everything happening with Casey, current World Cup, all the things that you guys have been doing, quite literally continent, continent. We're gonna get into all of it. Yes. It's beautiful. Um, and so let's hear first though, who you are, what's your, what's you're doing today?
Dani Welniak (00:02:01):
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Hi, um, I am Dani wac. I'm the Vice President of Communications for the Kansas City current. Um, I made the transition to, uh, the team about a little over four years ago, um, from being the sports director over at KCTV five and, uh, doing some sideline work with the Chiefs radio network, Uhhuh, . And, um, it came at the most perfect time in my life and my husband's life, uh, because we had recently had a daughter. Yeah. Um, and she was about 1-year-old. And, um, what better opportunity than being able to be a role model and change the next generation mm-hmm . Um, of female athletes mm-hmm . Than now and what Angie and Chris Long and the Mahomes are doing here in Kansas City as the ownership group for the Kansas City current. Yeah. Man, I, I just, I bought in from the start and was blown away. And so, um, it's just, again, such a blessing to be a part of mm-hmm . Everything that's happened. Um, and yes, I am Captain exclamation point , so you'll see that in my emails and my text messages. That
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:03:00):
Is
Dani Welniak (00:03:00):
Me too.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:03:00):
Don't have
Dani Welniak (00:03:00):
Any conversations with me.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:03:01):
If I get a, if I get a text message from a friend without an exclamation point or emoji, I am that person that I'm like, are we okay? Is what
Dani Welniak (00:03:07):
Did I do wrong, ? Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:03:08):
Like,
Dani Welniak (00:03:09):
Are we, is this good?
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:03:10):
Okay, cool.
Dani Welniak (00:03:10):
Are we still friends?
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:03:11):
Are we still friends? Um, no, but you know, my husband and I, we have two girls too. Yeah. So living in Kansas City with all of this happening is such a blessing for us too. Yeah. To be able to be a part of that.
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And I, I sometimes wonder if we were still living in Chicago and we were watching this happening from afar, we obviously wouldn't feel the magnitude of it in the same way Right. As we feel it here. Um, but like I am blown away by what has happened in such a short period of time. And as I told you, I was doing all of my homework on you before you came in. Thank you. I was looking at pictures of your family with your daughter who's like at the signing, right? Yeah. Of like the breaking ground or whatever of the stadium and stuff.
(00:03:48):
Yeah. And I'm just like, what an incredible opportunity for her to be that up close and personal with what's happening. Yeah. Um, watch, she'll probably grow up to be like a dancer artist or something, which is fabulous, I hope. Of course. Yes. Nothing wrong with that. No. Um, but she has this front row seat to everything that's happening and, um, and oh my gosh, I have so many questions for you because I didn't even know that you were a professional football player yourself, by the way. Yeah. So we're gonna have to get into that too. I did wear
Dani Welniak (00:04:12):
My Superbowl ring, so I feel a little bit under prepared. My apologies. Um, but yeah, I would love to chat about that background. Yeah. And just like, that's the reason why I feel so passionate about being able to do that for my daughter and for your daughters. Yeah. And for, um, again, the next generation of athletes,
but also, like, it's so much bigger than that too, in that you're providing this platform and an opportunity to talk about female empowerment in women's sports mm-hmm . But also, um, women in primarily male dominated fields mm-hmm . And breaking into, um, jobs, careers, opportunities that we may not have had before. Yeah. As women, and I talk to people all the time about how, like I can see in this moment in time just the difference of generations. Like where my grandma didn't have the opportunity or even a thought to play sports at the collegiate level,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:05:01):
Not even remotely a possibility.
Dani Welniak (00:05:02):
Professional level. Right. Um, and then my mom who like Title IX happened and everything started rolling and there was obviously still the struggle mm-hmm . Um, but again, professional, not even in the cards, um, to my generation who's like, we get to see all this firsthand as it's happening. Yeah. But we still have a long way to go and hopefully, um, our daughters Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:05:24):
Now
Dani Welniak (00:05:24):
Get to see a stadium built for women and training facilities and get to know nothing other than that being the standard, so
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:05:30):
The norm. Yeah. It's pretty cool. And to be clear, that is the first stadium that was built dedicated to professional women's sports
Dani Welniak (00:05:37):
In the world.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:05:38):
In the world, which
Dani Welniak (00:05:39):
Is crazy that it's happening right here in our own backyard. Yeah. Now, the fact that it took until 2024 for something like that to happen, kind of, it's like a whole other story, whole other story there. Um, but I just think that we are the standard and I think, you know, you go to work every day and you think, Hey, I am changing the world, but you don't really realize it until you have the conversations with reporters or people in Brazil who are, you know mm-hmm . Fighting for those opportunities. Or we had someone come over from, uh, Japan and they were talking about how they saw this, witnessed it and wanted to take it back to Oh
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:06:12):
My gosh,
Dani Welniak (00:06:13):
To their home. And
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:06:14):
Huge,
Dani Welniak (00:06:15):
It just,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:06:15):
I mean, you couldn't get any farther
Dani Welniak (00:06:16):
The global scale. Right? Yeah. Like that what we're doing here in Kansas City is so, it's so close to us. Yeah. Such the proximity of it happening in our own backyard, but it is literally changing the world.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:06:27):
Can you tell, tell us a little bit about like, I mean, obviously I know Brittany Mahomes was a part of it because she was here, or they moved here because of the Chiefs, clearly , but can you give us a little background of like the long Chris and Angie Long? Yeah. And like how did Kansas City, just by luck become the first destination for this to kind of be happening and setting forth this example? Like what's kind of the, the background, there's
Dani Welniak (00:06:51):
No such thing as luck. Look, I am a firm believer in that everything happens for a reason. Yeah. Um, but I think taking it back to when Angie and Chris Long, uh, were over in France for the 2019 World Cup, um, their daughter was over there playing and they saw flashes into power and light in the World Cup broadcasts. And so as they're overseas, watching from afar the power and the passion of Kansas City for women's sports and showing up and it being, again, something that is on a global scale, they thought to themselves, if that's how Kansas City is showing up for the national team
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:07:30):
Mm-hmm .
Dani Welniak (00:07:31):
We know that we have an opportunity in Kansas City to make women's sports something special and to bring women's sports back. And so they,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:07:38):
So it was literally like light bulb moment for them Yeah. The two of them.
Dani Welniak (00:07:41):
Yeah. Mm-hmm . So, and they came back and it was, you know, a little less than I think 130 days before they came back. Uh, they purchased the rights to the team that was in Utah to bring it back to Kansas City. Right. In 2020. Okay. And then, um, got it from, uh, purchase to pitch so fast. I was gonna say,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:08:01):
We were talking about that before. Crazy.
Dani Welniak (00:08:03):
I
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:08:03):
Mean, it does, it almost seems like, did this just happen overnight? Yeah. Obviously No, but obviously
Dani Welniak (00:08:07):
No, but, um, there was, there was a process there, but it, it did happen fast. And that's, you know, how we do at the Kansas City current. I mean, they have a vision, they have a passion mm-hmm . And then they put it into action. And that's how we got the team here, which I think is really cool. And then we're growing like over the past, I guess five seasons, uh, five or six seasons now mm-hmm . And, um, you just see how far it's come. It's, it's crazy. But again, it's only been a few seasons.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:08:34):
And was Brittany in on it from the beginning? Because I don't think a lot of people know. Yeah. I mean, in Kansas City they probably do, but I don't know that a lot of people know her background in soccer. Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:08:41):
So she was a professional soccer player over in Iceland, I
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:08:44):
Believe. Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:08:45):
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Mm-hmm. Is that, is that correct?
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:08:45):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:08:46):
Okay. So I just wanna make sure I got my
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:08:47):
Back. I'm saying that like I know her, but Yes, I know from my homework
Dani Welniak (00:08:49):
Absolutely. As I'm, as I'm throwing that out there.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:08:51):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:08:51):
Um, but yeah, so she is one of the co-founders, co-owners, and the idea obviously was spawned with Angie and Chris Long coming back and bringing that here. And when Brittany heard about it, she wanted to be a part of it. And so she reached out to Angie and Chris and she's like, look, I have a background in soccer, I'm really passionate about this. And now you've also seen, you know, her husband, uh, get on board as well, which I think is really
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:09:13):
Little guy named Patrick. Really cool. Yeah. Mm-hmm . Yeah, you
Dani Welniak (00:09:15):
Just him . Um, and so you've seen just the passion and the power that the four of them bring to this. And I think it's really cool also to be able to say that it's just, it's just the four of them. So Yeah, there's a lot of other, you know, organizations that have lots of different owners, lots of different investors, and for the Kansas City current, it's really these four who are so passionate about what we're doing here.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:09:37):
So from your perspective, obviously I, my family has been to see a game thank you to you, by the way, , you were the first one that I met several years ago. Yeah. Um, and uh, you know, obviously the stadium is beautiful, we could talk about that for a long time. Um, what are you guys today most proud of in terms of what K KC Current is doing or has done? I mean, how do you wrap that up in a bow to be like, okay, here we are in 2026. Yeah. Huge things have already happened in the beginning of the year. Huge things coming this year. World Cup, we'll get into that. Um, but how do you kind of communicate quite literally what this has, um, what this has done?
Dani Welniak (00:10:17):
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I think simply like two things. It's that everything that we're doing here in Kansas City with the Kansas City current is historic. Yeah. A lot of it is things that have never been done before. Mm-hmm . We're doing for the very first time, which there's a lot of pressure with that too.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:10:33):
Sure.
Dani Welniak (00:10:33):
Because you are setting the standard, which is my point number two, people are watching and countries are taking note Yeah. Of
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:10:43):
Whats
Dani Welniak (00:10:43):
Happening here. Organizations, um, other sports teams. So when you have, um, at least in our, you know, world, other PR teams reach out and say, how are you doing this? Mm-hmm
(00:10:56):
. Um, we just talked about, you know, Brazil and Japan and Australia and um, now Denmark, you have this global reach that is impacting everyone, not only in women's sports, but also just in sports in general. Yeah. And so I think for us it's just how we're setting the standard, how we're being the blueprint. And we love being the first. We take great pride in that, but we don't wanna be the last, because if you're the last, I love that, then you haven't passed the baton on and you're not doing right. Um, what you intended to do for the generations to come.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:37):
Does that mean that there are other stadiums in the works? There
Dani Welniak (00:11:41):
Are.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:41):
Okay. Yes.
Dani Welniak (00:11:42):
Um, actually, uh, most notably, uh, the Denver Summit is, um
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:46):
Okay.
Dani Welniak (00:11:47):
Building their, uh, stadium in the NWSL. Um, we've talked with, um, outlets over in, um, in Europe, in the uk, uh, that Brighton will be building their own stadium. Okay. So there's at least two out there for now with the vision and the expectation of there being more.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:12:03):
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So with, let's talk about the players, because you and I had talked before about the importance of the storytelling Yeah. Of the players. Um, I personally dunno how it works when players, you know, kind of move in and out of the team and everything, but like Yeah. Watching your social media and seeing the personalities, so fun of the players, whether they've been here for Yeah. Uh, you know, a few seasons or where they're brand new this season. It is so fun. How do you go about, I'm sure it's a team effort, but how do you go about showcasing who these individuals are, who these women are, um, and to ensure that you're telling their story in a way that really like, gets it has this infectious obviously effect when you're watching it?
Dani Welniak (00:12:42):
Yeah. I mean, we're the storytellers of the club, right? Yeah. So in the communications department, this is our passion project. Yeah. Um, it's amazing just to see how it's evolved and how personalities and even the star factor have evolved in the
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:12:55):
NWSL Yeah. Over
Dani Welniak (00:12:55):
The past few years. Um, and even just on the Kansas City current, I mean, look, you've got the back-to back MVP and Golden Boot winner and Timm Waso, who's incredibly electric and just someone that you fall in love with mm-hmm . Because, um, she has that fun personality, but she's also like absolutely gonna destroy you on the pitch . Yeah. So like good out luck keeping up with her, like she will zoom right by you. Um, but then you've also got personalities on there, like L Lavante who Yeah. Is our celly queen. And she,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:24):
She is a riot. Her
Dani Welniak (00:13:26):
Is the epitome of meet her Kansas City though. Right. So like her being the leader and the captain and watching her and her just being herself mm-hmm . How do you not want to amplify that and tell that story? Um, she's phenomenal. Um, we have the new additions like Roy Bethune who will be an amazing addition to an already powerful offense. And then Ali Setor, who's a US women's national team star Michelle Cooper as well. Like all of these different personalities. I'm just scratching the surface 'cause Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:55):
I
Dani Welniak (00:13:55):
Didn't even talk about like Lorena, who's the reigning goalkeeper of the year. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:58):
So,
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Dani Welniak (00:13:58):
And she has such a powerful presence in Brazil. Um, and Dina, gosh, I could just read that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:14:03):
I, it does go on and on. Gosh. It's like how much time do we have to really recognize everybody? Should
Dani Welniak (00:14:07):
I just talk about everyone in their stories? Yeah. Which makes my job so much easier too, because you have these players who are, are bought into the vision, who are excited about Kansas City, um, but also the impact that they're making on young women, um, girls, even boys, um, and families, not only in Kansas City, but also in their hometowns and where they come from.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:14:28):
Yeah. Okay. So for people who might not be familiar Yes. With women's professional soccer, the stadium the season. Yeah. Can you give us kind of like an overview of what the season looks like? How many home games are here? Um, what to experience at the stadium? Oh my gosh, it's gorgeous. I mean, it is stunning. I love that you guys have all the local food, um, vendors that are there and everything. So talk about that for people who have not yet been and absolutely need to get out for the season.
Dani Welniak (00:14:52):
Uh, 100%.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:14:53):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:14:54):
So we start on March 14th and the season, because we're gonna go to the championship this year, runs through November. So that is kind of wrap your head around that. Now, the World Cup break, we take off, uh, pretty much the entire month of June. Um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:06):
But
Dani Welniak (00:15:06):
We have so many things going on with the Kansas City current including, um, ancillary, uh, tournaments such as Teal Rising Cup, which we as an organization
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:16):
Have
Dani Welniak (00:15:16):
Spearheaded, um, and have taken on. And we're really the first team in the NWSL to do so
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:21):
Yet again.
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Dani Welniak (00:15:21):
So, you know, , I'm just gonna say first all the time, you're gonna get sick of me. I'm like a record.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:25):
No, I love it. Record
Dani Welniak (00:15:25):
With first historic.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:26):
That's actually what I'll do with my content. It'll just be you saying first, first, first, first. That's what we'll do.
Dani Welniak (00:15:32):
Awesome. I love that for us. Yeah. Um, yeah, just keep the tallies going.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:35):
Right.
Dani Welniak (00:15:36):
Um, but so from that to the regular season matches to CPKC stadium being an experience that isn't just about soccer, it's so much bigger than that. Like we have James Beard Award-winning restaurant partners and that experience from the culinary side of things is phenomenal. Mm-hmm . Um, even our press box, our reporters get the best world class treatment. Yep. Um, and so that's a fun piece of it. We have, um, some amazing like decor that is a nod to a lot of the history of women's sports. Mm-hmm . Um, we have Title nine
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:16:14):
Wall. That's right. You have like an area that maybe has like some names maybe there.
Dani Welniak (00:16:17):
Yes. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:16:17):
We
Dani Welniak (00:16:17):
Have the 80 fivers wall. Yeah,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:16:18):
That's
Dani Welniak (00:16:19):
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It. Um, which we brought in most of the team. I think only two players didn't, didn't make it for the opener in 2024, uh, but to bring them in and really give them the nod mm-hmm . That this was built on their shoulders. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:16:36):
Like,
Dani Welniak (00:16:36):
Couldn't do this without the foundation that a lot of those women's teams laid. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:16:40):
Um,
Dani Welniak (00:16:41):
And so that's such a phenomenal piece of it. The inclusivity and accessibility. Like there's, we have mother's rooms and sensory rooms huge. And we have adult changing tables and everything that we have built in the stadium. I say we, um, the vision of the ownership group trickle down, right. Yeah. Um, is made so that it is an exceptional experience for everyone. Yeah. The entire, even the colon, back to the culinary experience, it's a peanut free stadium and um, oh wow. I don't think I realize that it has food free options mm-hmm . And so it's just a powerful like, nod to thinking about all of the little things. Yeah. Um, and I, I know I'm just scratching the surface there 'cause there's so much more to it as well. Um
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:17:25):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:17:26):
That when you come, you get the best of Kansas City Yeah. In one place. And that's what our ownership group wanted to get across was that you can come to Kansas City and you can experience all of it mm hmm . And
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:17:38):
You can
Dani Welniak (00:17:38):
Have to go, you know, all across the city, which is fun, don't get me wrong.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:17:41):
Right.
Dani Welniak (00:17:42):
But if you come down to CP KC Stadium, you get it all in one place. And so you can
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:17:45):
Feel like
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Dani Welniak (00:17:46):
Yeah. If you've been there, you've been the best that Kansas City
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:17:48):
Offer. Well, I was gonna say back to your point about like the James Beard Award. Um, so we've got rye, the owners of Rye that are there Right. To that point. Um, but I was thinking like even if you're not into soccer, go for the foodie experience, , you could do like a progressive crawl around the stadium. I don't, I mean, I couldn't rattle off all the places that are there. I'm sure you can't either, but like I feel like you could do like a little tasting and all these different, you know Yes. Food vendors that are around the city Yeah. For people who are the local foodies. So a
Dani Welniak (00:18:13):
Hundred percent Yeah. We've got Joe's barbecue out there too. Yeah. So like of course if you need your barbecue fix, you've got that, you've got Billy's grocery, like you've got so many different options. Yeah. That just make it such a different experience. Now can you also get your, your popcorn and like your hot dog? Of course. But like,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:27):
Wouldn't overlook that. Yeah, of course.
Dani Welniak (00:18:28):
Yeah. You've gotta have those options.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:30):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:18:30):
You know, for your, your fans. But then you also have something that's so different in your restaurant partners.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:36):
So you have, um, season ticket holders
Dani Welniak (00:18:38):
Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:38):
And then you can des buy general admission. How does that work? So
Dani Welniak (00:18:42):
There is um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:43):
Or is it standing room or what is that?
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Dani Welniak (00:18:45):
We have standing room. Um, but you have, I don't necessarily, I wouldn't call it necessarily general admission, but like you
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:51):
Can
Dani Welniak (00:18:52):
Purchase single game tickets.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:52):
Single game tickets. Thank you. Yes. So there
Dani Welniak (00:18:54):
You go. There's your fancy
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:55):
Verbiage
Dani Welniak (00:18:55):
Of the day. Yeah. Um, but yeah, so we have our season ticket member base is just absolutely phenomenal. Yeah. And incredible. And we sold out of it within I mean hours. I remember that when we opened it up in 2024. And so to be the first stadium, the first NWSL team to have sold out mm-hmm . Your home stadium for every regular season home match in back to back seasons is just a testament to what Kansas City does and how we show up.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:26):
Well, I was gonna say, I mean, one I would imagine, did you expect that, right? Like you probably hoped for the best but weren't sure that that was gonna happen and then it did where you, I mean, what do you chalk that up to? You know, I feel like it goes back to like, nobody loves Kansas City as much as Kansas City Indians do . Like how does that happen? Yeah, that's huge. And
Dani Welniak (00:19:46):
I, I think it's a, it's a funny question because as we're planning for this and as we're rolling out the stadium, we expected that as
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:53):
An organization.
Dani Welniak (00:19:54):
Yeah,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:54):
Okay, good. Because
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Dani Welniak (00:19:55):
Of the passion of our fan base. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:57):
Um,
Dani Welniak (00:19:58):
To your point, like Kansas City loves Kansas City sports mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:02):
.
Dani Welniak (00:20:02):
Like I joke because in Kansas City we don't really have like mountains to climb and we don't really have like ocean to go surf.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:10):
Little
Dani Welniak (00:20:11):
S hanging out at Yeah. We have our sports and we take such pride in being the loudest stadium in the NFL. Yep. We take such pride in, you know, even like Allen Fieldhouse and CPKC stadium has become that me and WSL because of our passionate fans and supporters Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:29):
And
Dani Welniak (00:20:29):
They show up and we went from opening in 2024 with people in, you know, just like their Kansas City like fan outfits. Right. Like whatever you would wear to like, you know, maybe a chiefs gamer, a royals gamer, a sporting game. Yeah. To now it is a sea of teal and um, fans are wearing KC current stuff out and about and I just can't wait until I see it on like television at some
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:54):
Yep.
Dani Welniak (00:20:54):
Other sporting event.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:56):
Yeah. So
Dani Welniak (00:20:56):
That's
Page 14 of 59
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:56):
Great. Well, and then you see it, um, I have my scarf on obviously right now and I brought my sweatshirt that actually, you know what, I got that sweatshirt, uh, Charlie. Okay. But Jason Sudeikis had it and I would see him wear it when he was like accepting an award for like an Emmy or something and he had his and he couldn't go, I think it was a few years ago. Yeah. And I saw him wearing it. I was like, I want that sweatshirt. So I love that he was wearing the teal, by the way. And then he's obviously a huge fan. Yes. Um, that's the other thing, like you've got a lot of celebrities kind of backing, you know, their fandom for Casey Kern. Yes. And he's one
Dani Welniak (00:21:28):
Of our most avid supporters. Yeah. Which I think is so fun. Yeah. And the tradition that we built with like the Casey baby chant to open up matches and have, um, celebrities who have some kind of Kansas City tie come back and really be a part of that. Yeah. I think is really powerful. And it's really
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:21:42):
Cool
Dani Welniak (00:21:43):
Because it does, like, they help us and hopefully like we help them recognize like the power of women's sports.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:21:49):
Yeah. And I mean, I don't know that there are many other cities that have the likes of Sudeikis and Paul Rudd and Heidi and Eric Stone Street and Robert Uln. Everybody like shouting from the rooftops how amazing Kansas City is and how much they love their hometown. Yeah. You know, it's, oh, it's, they do so much and I don't know if I'm just like not aware of people who are famous from Portland, Oregon doing the same thing, but I certainly have only seen it here. And I mean, it's just so fun to live here and
Dani Welniak (00:22:13):
It's
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:13):
So, and see that happening. It
Dani Welniak (00:22:14):
Is, it's so different. Yeah. Because
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:15):
We
Dani Welniak (00:22:15):
Feel like, like when you leave you need to come back or you wanna give back to the community that Yeah. Really like embraces you. Yeah. And like everything that we do, I feel like is for each other and it's very much Midwest mentality and vibe Yeah. Of like, wow, we are all growing together and we're all in this together. Yeah. Which I think is such, is so rare. Yeah. Um, and I think a lot of people, if you haven't
Page 15 of 59
been here, you don't get it. Mm-hmm. And so when they do come such as, you know, the World Cup committee Yep. When they come, they actually see it. Man, it's life changing.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:48):
Yeah. You're not from here,
Dani Welniak (00:22:50):
I'm from Dallas. You're
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:51):
From, don't that against
Dani Welniak (00:22:51):
Me. I'm so sorry to everybody listening. Do
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:53):
Not worry. I'm not from here originally either. Um, I'm originally from Tulsa, but we moved here from Chicago. Um, but I just bring that up because you were brought here as well. Yep. For work, I assume. Yes. Um, did you notice it right away? This the Kansas City, you know, kind of like the love for Kansas City. Did you, like what, what year did you move here? So I
Dani Welniak (00:23:12):
Moved here with my husband in 2016. Okay. So we actually, so I started my journey. I went to Oklahoma State
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:19):
Mm-hmm .
Dani Welniak (00:23:20):
Started my journey Go coast in Yep, exactly. , uh, in Dodge City, Kansas, way Western Kansas. And I joke with people that I got the two best things in my life out of that because yeah. I got my first job and I met my husband. Okay. So, um, we moved into Wichita second job. And then Kansas City was my third job opportunity and we have absolutely fallen in love with it. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:41):
And
Dani Welniak (00:23:42):
I think I knew it it from the beginning because of the transition, um, throughout just like the state of Kansas Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:49):
And over
Dani Welniak (00:23:50):
Page 16 of 59
To Missouri and being able to experience the sports in Kansas City even from afar.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:56):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:23:57):
It's, it's just so different. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:58):
And it's
Dani Welniak (00:23:59):
So fun. And so, I mean, I was bought in from the get-go. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:03):
Like
Dani Welniak (00:24:03):
Growing up a Dallas Cowboys fan, like that's part of your blood. Um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:07):
Still a fan, still your number one.
Dani Welniak (00:24:09):
I I have to, I have to. It's fine. You know, it's alright. Like I know way more about the Chiefs than I know about the Dallas Cowboys right now. Yeah. But it's like my whole family's like, you must wear the silver. Like silver. Yeah. It's
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:18):
Ingrained in you.
Dani Welniak (00:24:19):
It's ingrained.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:19):
So, but your first job was, um, what? Here? It was with, um,
Dani Welniak (00:24:24):
So it was with KC TV five,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:26):
KCTV five as a, I was a weekend
Dani Welniak (00:24:27):
Page 17 of 59
Sports anchor.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:28):
There you go. Yes. So you've always had kind of that, that knack for sports and Oh my gosh. Working in that.
Dani Welniak (00:24:33):
So passionate about sports. Yeah. Super passionate about women's sports. Um, I actually really wanted to be the crocodile hunter, um, growing, growing up. So I wanted to go into marine biology.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:43):
Oh my gosh. So did I.
Dani Welniak (00:24:44):
Um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:45):
After seeing the movie Free Willie, I literally just told this story to my daughter the other day, did
Dani Welniak (00:24:49):
You wanna work at SeaWorld?
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:50):
Was that Yes. I mean, yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:24:51):
Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:51):
And then I went to KU and last I checked, they don't have a good marine biology program. So, you know, again
Dani Welniak (00:24:56):
With the whole landlock thing, you know, that kind of poses my problem. Um, but it was, it, the trajectory was awesome because going from that to still wanting to be in like some kind of television, like as you can tell my personality very much.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:25:09):
Yeah. It's perfect.
Dani Welniak (00:25:11):
Fierce towards that
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:25:12):
Uhhuh .
Page 18 of 59
Dani Welniak (00:25:13):
Um, and I was recruited to play women's professional football in Dallas when
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:25:17):
I graduat hear about this when graduated
Dani Welniak (00:25:19):
High school. And so had a friend's cousin actually come out to our powder puff game our senior year in high school. And that's how they had to recruit was just like powder puff games in high school Sure. Or like pick up basketball games because you don't have women who play professional football or like, even like the helmets, pads, gridiron style football. Right. And so, um, I went and I fell in love with it. Yeah. And my mom was insanely supportive. Oh good. Um, and so ended up doing that as a wide receiver and um, were
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:25:50):
You 18?
Dani Welniak (00:25:51):
Yeah, I was a baby. Oh my
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:25:53):
Gosh.
Dani Welniak (00:25:53):
A baby. Um, and so did that for five seasons and four years mm-hmm . Um, was blessed enough to, um, have be a part of a Super Bowl winning team. Um, I was rookie of the year in 2000 Big deal thousand seven. Big deal. Yeah, it's fine. Congrats to you.
(00:26:09):
It's huge. And it was part of the first team to actually win a gold medal and play internationally in Sweden. Oh my gosh. And so it was just such an incredible experience and that opened the door for my passion for football mm-hmm . And that was what kind of led me on the trajectory to start covering high school sports and do whatever I could to just be around football and sports in general. And then when I got up here to Kansas City, having a conversation with the executive producer Dan Israel of the Chief's Radio network Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:26:37):
Just
Dani Welniak (00:26:37):
A few months into my time being here. Um, it was just such a perfect fit and I was just so passionate about it. And so, um, that background made me passionate about women's sports, made me passionate about football. And without both of those, I'm not here in the seat in front of you today.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:26:52):
Is that how you ended up working for the Chiefs?
Page 19 of 59
Dani Welniak (00:26:54):
So, yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:26:55):
So
Dani Welniak (00:26:56):
Funny enough, um, I was in the job just a couple months and I was up at training camp and Dan, Dan Israel, um, came up to me and said, Hey, like we're looking for somebody who can be our sideline reporter on the road. Mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:27:07):
.
Dani Welniak (00:27:07):
Um, do you think you'd have some time to like talk it over over coffee? Like we'd like a female voice. And I was like, you know what? Yeah. Let's, let's go chat. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:27:16):
So
Dani Welniak (00:27:16):
We went to a Starbucks and um, kind of had a conversation about my background and about what exactly they were looking for and he said, can you draw a route tree? And I said, oh, can I draw a route tree? And I grabbed a Starbucks napkin and I wrote out a route tree and I gave it to him and he was like, alright, you're hired.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:27:33):
Yeah. And it always starts on a napkin. It always seemingly it started on
Dani Welniak (00:27:36):
A napkin. Right. , that's how all good stories start. So, um, was hired from that point, uh, loved every second of it, got blessed enough to be a part of like the whole Andy Reed era. Yeah. Patrick Mahomes era and early Super Bowl era, part of it. And um, then, you know, I'm a firm believer. Like, again, nothing happens. Um, everything happens for a reason.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:27:58):
Right.
Dani Welniak (00:27:59):
And so I'm a firm believer in my faith. I'm gonna put that out there.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:02):
Great.
Page 20 of 59
Dani Welniak (00:28:02):
Um, in that like, God kicks you through
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:04):
Doors
Dani Welniak (00:28:04):
Mm-hmm .
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:04):
Mm-hmm .
Dani Welniak (00:28:05):
And um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:05):
I'm with you. Yeah. This
Dani Welniak (00:28:06):
Was definitely one that he kicked me through for sure, because it set me up for meeting Angie and Chris Long. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:12):
Um,
Dani Welniak (00:28:13):
As the sports director at kctv five and having a platform to be able to want to get women's sports on television.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:21):
Okay. And
Dani Welniak (00:28:22):
So when KC NWSL at the time came back to Kansas City, um, I was really passionate about getting it on tv Yeah. In some capacity, even if it was our sister station. And so were you kind of
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:34):
The first one to be voicing that?
Dani Welniak (00:28:35):
Yes,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:35):
I take it. Okay. Yeah.
Page 21 of 59
Dani Welniak (00:28:36):
And, uh, connected with Kathy Nelson, who was a huge advocate for it as well.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:39):
She's great.
Dani Welniak (00:28:40):
And I was the only female sports director in the market at the time. And, um, it was so cool because there were, you know, kinks you had to work out and there were some growing pains mm-hmm . But to be able to say that I had a platform to help that was amazing. Yeah. And it didn't matter whether it was football or football, you know, football, we did it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:57):
Yep.
Dani Welniak (00:28:58):
And, um, that was my, my door and my introduction to the longs. And now, um, I guess it would've been like a year, year and a half later, um, when we had our conversation about this job opportunity, I was like, I cannot turn that down. Like how Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:13):
Incredible.
Dani Welniak (00:29:14):
To be a part of something like this. Mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:15):
. So
Dani Welniak (00:29:16):
There you go. There's the whole
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:17):
Backstory.
Dani Welniak (00:29:18):
Well,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:18):
Yeah. And I mean, you have a, a clearly like shining example of your, um, your drive, your ambition, um, the way your trajectory of like where you started and where you are today. And you're not done obviously, but Oh no,
Dani Welniak (00:29:32):
We're just getting started.
Page 22 of 59
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:33):
Yeah. I mean, you're VP of communications for KC Current now. So tell us what you do for that role.
Dani Welniak (00:29:39):
That is such a trick question because
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:41):
Is it
Dani Welniak (00:29:41):
Every day does not look the same ? Like it totally depends on what's going on. And we joke that we don't really have an off season because we are doing
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:47):
So much. Yeah, true.
Dani Welniak (00:29:49):
So like in this role in particular and with the communications team, we get to oversee and be a part of everything, which I think is such a unique position in sports because you're part of the front office staff and the business side of things and telling those stories with partners, but you're also a part of the team and the technical staff mm-hmm . And the coaches and everything that goes on, on the pitch. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:09):
Um,
Dani Welniak (00:30:09):
So we have, you know, just the first team there and then you just also happen to have your own stadium and CP KC stadium. We're building current landing, which is the district which is adjacent to it. Yeah. We have the new, um, teal Rising Academy down in Brazil. Yep. We have, we have to talk about that. Of course we do. Mm-hmm. Because that's gonna be fun and really cool. And I can't wait to see how that develops. Yeah. Um, and then you have your Teal Rising alliance. So we're trying to get the next generation and that professional pathway built up and built out for youth development. Um, and we literally just ribbon cut on our new performance center and our new second team stadium in Riverside. Um, and then of course, you know, Chris and Angie have, um, HB Kerr over in Denmark. So there are a lot of things going on around the Kansas City current right now.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:00):
Oh my gosh. I mean this is like a team of just like gold star people who have the best vision and, and drive. Okay. So let's talk about, um, Brazil. Tell us about that. Yeah. This just happened in the last several months, is that right? It was just
Dani Welniak (00:31:15):
Within the last, yeah. I guess within the last month.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:17):
Page 23 of 59
So okay. So tell us what it is and what the um, the, the kind of inspiration behind it was.
Dani Welniak (00:31:23):
Yeah. It's part of the bigger picture vision, um, for the Kansas City current as a club is to build out this professional player development pathway. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:33):
And
Dani Welniak (00:31:34):
Most NWSL teams don't have it. It's very nuanced and new to the women's sports world. And so getting the opportunity to be the first NWSL team to have an academy and a presence in Brazil, again, very powerful. And we have binya on our team who is very influential and setting the standard for young women in Brazil coming up through soccer Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:57):
As
Dani Welniak (00:31:57):
Well as Lorena our, um, goalkeeper. So having those players, knowing what it looks like to have to kind changed the norm mm-hmm . For women in Brazil and come up through their pathway without like a true development pathway, I think was very inspirational for the current and the vision. And so that just came to fruition, um, within the last, you know, year, year and a half. But development's been a big priority for the club. Yeah. And so whether that's in Brazil, whether that's in Kansas City, whether that's over in Europe, like the opportunities are endless for women's sports, it's just having the vision and the belief that you can just do it. Mm-hmm . And I know that's very much taking in a Nike, Nike verbiage there, Nike slogan.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:32:46):
It resonates though. Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:32:47):
But it does because that's literally what we do. Yeah. Is we just do it. And so Ryan Dell, who's our general managers mm-hmm . Incredibly passionate about this project. And, um, he and Angie actually went down to Brazil to make the announcement and to kind of kick off this opportunity for like u seventeens and U fifteens to have a place to really develop
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:33:10):
Why Brazil.
Dani Welniak (00:33:12):
I think the origin story probably comes from the passion that we've seen around our Brazilian players. Mm-hmm . And I go back to my piece of the puzzle in that we have such an avid Portuguese speaking following and love it for
(00:33:29):
Page 24 of 59
Our broadcasts. We have Portuguese speaking options on our app, and so we have Spanish and Portuguese. Um, and the origin of that came from our players' families wanting to listen and not having the opportunity to watch the games here in the United States. Yeah. And so I think knowing and seeing what DIA has brought to the table and what Lorena and even like over the past few years we've had Lauren and we've had BIA RAs and like those players are just such a shining example of international players coming to the US mm-hmm . They are incredibly successful. They are a staple of the team. And I think, like, I can't completely speak to Angie and Chris's vision for why exactly, Brazil
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:34:14):
Sure.
Dani Welniak (00:34:15):
But I do know that, at least from the pieces that I've seen mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:34:18):
.
Dani Welniak (00:34:18):
It's primarily because it's going to be a great place, um, for youth development, especially for women as the World Cup comes to Brazil mm-hmm . Um, and then also because of the, the staple that our Portuguese speaking and Brazilian players have been and
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:34:38):
Yeah. That makes total sense will
Dani Welniak (00:34:39):
Likely become. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:34:40):
So we don't do anything from afar with that. That's really the leadership, the ownership team saying we wanna play a part and giving these girls the opportunity to learn, develop wherever they end up. Yeah,
Dani Welniak (00:34:52):
For sure.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:34:52):
Across the world for
Dani Welniak (00:34:53):
Sure. Absolutely.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:34:54):
Okay. But it's just got the KC current name and belief and support in training and everything behind it. Yeah,
Dani Welniak (00:34:59):
Page 25 of 59
Absolutely.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:00):
Okay.
Dani Welniak (00:35:00):
And it's gonna be something that's really cool to see because there's a whole lot of other pieces that go into that, but the opportunity for players to develop there, whether that's, you know, actual players from Brazil Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:12):
Or
Dani Welniak (00:35:12):
If it's players from across the world, they can come in and they can develop there and have the best world class facilities, amenities, resources, coaching, and then hopefully that gives them the opportunity to come play for the Kansas City current. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:25):
Okay. So we haven't talked about, um, Chris Armas,
Dani Welniak (00:35:28):
Uh yes. Our new head coach.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:29):
New head coach. Yeah. Let's talk about him. I wanna hear more about him, his background, what he's bringing to the team.
Dani Welniak (00:35:34):
I have enjoyed every second that I've interacted with him. Yeah. He brings such, um, vibrance and excitement and he's now a professional soccer hall of famer. Um, love it. Just recently. And so just the past few, I guess we were there for three weeks, three weeks in California. Um, seeing him just get ingrained and kind of establish like his principles with the team has been really fun to watch.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:01):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:36:01):
Um, he is bringing two things that I think are really important to kind of just like get out there and let people know little, little sneak peek
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:08):
Into the
Dani Welniak (00:36:08):
Page 26 of 59
Season. Yeah. , um, number one is finding joy in everything that they do. And like that fits right into like how we operate
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:15):
As
Dani Welniak (00:36:15):
The Kansas City current and our players who just like, enjoy celebrating or enjoy scoring. Like it, it is so fun to see even the new players come in and just like everything they do, they're laughing, they're enjoying the moment. Like even in the hard times and like, you know, being on the road for three weeks is tough.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:34):
Oh yeah. Yeah. I can imagine There's a long
Dani Welniak (00:36:35):
Time to be away from home.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:36):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:36:36):
But like, just enjoying each other I think is really cool and it's such a trickle down effect.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:40):
Mm-hmm .
Dani Welniak (00:36:41):
Um, and then the other piece of it is we have such an incredible scoring and offensive like attack. Um, the, his philosophy is everything that we do is to score goals. Okay. So the goal is to score lots of goals, many
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:55):
No
Dani Welniak (00:36:55):
Pun intended, . Um, and to just like really amplify the, the talented players that we have. You know, you've got Tewa, you've got Michelle Cooper, you've got um, now Kroy Bethune. And so being able to be entertaining mm-hmm . And have relentless attacking soccer on that pitch at CPKC stadium. I mean, it's already been a blast to watch this team. Sure. Having been NWSL Shield winners last year mm-hmm . Um, and also setting, I think every record except for like one, just like rookie minutes played was the only one we didn't set in the league, which is this
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:30):
Year Amazing. This
Page 27 of 59
Dani Welniak (00:37:30):
Year and crazy this
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:31):
Year. Yeah. Yeah. Go for it.
Dani Welniak (00:37:32):
. So, you know, it's fine. Um, so I think that we're gonna see a lot of excitement and I just think like he brings, uh, a piece to the puzzle that is going to make this team just even better. Who
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:43):
Did he play for? So
Dani Welniak (00:37:44):
What's
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:44):
His background? Mm.
Dani Welniak (00:37:46):
He,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:46):
You said he moved from California, right?
Dani Welniak (00:37:50):
I'm not a hundred percent positive.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:51):
Okay. That's all right. Maybe I made that up. Edit that out. We'll edit that out . Okay. Okay.
Dani Welniak (00:37:55):
Sorry.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:57):
No, that's totally fine. Okay. Um, hang on. I wanted to ask about the, what I wrote it in here somewhere. Brad, you can edit this part out the, I wrote it in here. What do you guys have coming up? The teal Teal teal
Dani Welniak (00:38:08):
Rising cup slash week.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:10):
Yes. Okay. Let's talk about the Teal Rising cup.
Page 28 of 59
Dani Welniak (00:38:13):
Yes. Is
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:14):
That what it is? Did I get that name right?
Dani Welniak (00:38:15):
That was beautiful. . Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:16):
Teal,
Dani Welniak (00:38:17):
Rising Cup. Everything is teal rising. So like let's go teal all the time. Everywhere. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:21):
Um,
Dani Welniak (00:38:22):
But this is a tournament that we've put together. Last year was the first year that we did it. Um, and we brought in Corinthians and we brought in Palmera last year we brought in Chicago. Um, this year we're going to bring in Club America, so a Mexican team. And so we're bringing in these international teams and inviting them to be a part of a world oriented tournament. And a lot of NWSL teams don't do this. Okay. 'cause it is, um, it's a lot. And so bringing
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:52):
A lot of planning,
Dani Welniak (00:38:53):
A lot of planning mm-hmm . A lot of organization. Yeah. And also just like you're bringing in all these different cultures and styles of soccer play mm-hmm . That make it exciting to watch and make it fun. It exposes not only our players but also our fans to different brands of soccer and different
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:39:09):
Kinds of
Dani Welniak (00:39:09):
Soccer. But I think more importantly, it gives these teams an opportunity to see what women's sports can be. Got it. And even though these are, I mean, preeminent powerhouses in their respective countries mm hmm . On their respective continents, you get to come to Kansas City and see what CPKC stadium is, you get to see what the Kansas City current brings to the table and how we operate. And it is one of the most fun tournaments that I've been a part of.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:39:35):
Page 29 of 59
Mm-hmm .
Dani Welniak (00:39:36):
Because A, it's ran so incredibly well
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:39:38):
Of course it is
Dani Welniak (00:39:39):
and B, just because you do get a chance to interact with cultures and, um, styles of communication
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:39:45):
And styles
Dani Welniak (00:39:46):
Of play that are so very different from what you're used to.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:39:49):
Mm-hmm
Dani Welniak (00:39:49):
. And, um, it breaks up the normalcy of the NWSL regular season. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:39:56):
And
Dani Welniak (00:39:56):
It's just so fun. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:39:57):
And
Dani Welniak (00:39:58):
Their fans are, look, Kansas City fans
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:40:01):
Passionate,
Dani Welniak (00:40:02):
Are super passionate. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:40:03):
And
Page 30 of 59
Dani Welniak (00:40:04):
Um, we love them so much. These fans from Corinthians and Palmera are a whole different level game
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:40:13):
On. Okay.
Dani Welniak (00:40:14):
Like they are, um, extremely passionate and dare I say, just a little bit crazy . Um, but it is really cool to see also those fan bases make such the trip and make it like a whole week long event for them.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:40:25):
By the way, can you talk about some of the like super fans that go to the games? Who's the guy that paints his face has the beard. Right. I feel like he's like one of the faces of fandom for KC Current.
Dani Welniak (00:40:37):
So our supporter group, I have to give a shout out to Undertone Blue Crew because they are phenomenal. Um, and our capos are really like they have been here from the beginning. Yeah. They are passionate, they are powerful. They do such an incredible job of keeping the vibe going Uhhuh, uh, during the game. And we see that in the way the players play. Mm-hmm . The players have said like how much they're like their 12th man and we have like a whole supporter section. Awesome.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:00):
So
Dani Welniak (00:41:00):
That's amazing. And then of course Teman is front and center. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:04):
Right
Dani Welniak (00:41:04):
On the front. The glittery red beard and the whole teal painted body.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:08):
Incredible. Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:41:10):
It just makes the experience that much better. Yeah. And I think it's really cool also to point out that, you know, having the male allies and the advocates for women's sports, I think truly speaks volumes to how far we've come. I was just gonna say, now we have one way to go. Yes, sure. But I think that that is a good point to emphasize mm-hmm . Because we talk about how we do have the families and we do have the moms and the daughters Yeah. And the granddaughters that come out, but also like the young boys that are running around in Tega jerseys. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:45):
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And
Dani Welniak (00:41:45):
The dads who are like, I'm bringing the whole family out. Let's go
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:48):
Check
Dani Welniak (00:41:49):
Out some amazing soccer. And the grand, the grandpas
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:52):
Uhhuh
Dani Welniak (00:41:52):
Who are like so excited about it too.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:54):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:41:55):
I think that that shows that you're, you've moved from just becoming like this focal point of empowerment in women's sports to actually being something that has changed the perception of women's sports. And instead of just, you know, instead of turning on the TV and saying, I'm gonna watch women's soccer today, or I'm gonna watch women's basketball today. It's just like, I'm gonna watch soccer today.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:15):
Right.
Dani Welniak (00:42:16):
I'm gonna watch basketball
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:17):
Today.
Dani Welniak (00:42:17):
Right. And that's what you watch rather than Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:19):
Making
Dani Welniak (00:42:19):
The um, distinction between the two.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:21):
Page 32 of 59
I love that. And I, you know, part of me wants to be like, well, you know, the movement in women's sports becoming, um, exponentially more front and center is big part KC Current. Right. Yeah. With WNBA and everything else going on. For sure. But it is so exciting to see that happening. , like our 11-year-old has, um, Caly Clark a poster on her wall. Like remember back in the day we put posters on her wall So she has one . Yes. 'cause when she grows up, she um, says that she wants to be in the WNBA and I'm like, amazing. I would love to be your momager in the WNBA . So we're gonna manifest that.
Dani Welniak (00:42:52):
I
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:52):
Love that you,
Dani Welniak (00:42:53):
I'm here for that. Yep.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:54):
I'm here. Support you need. Yeah. So I think that, um, you know, huge advocate over here of course for all of that. I've got the Nike sweatshirt that says everyone's watching women's sports. Yes. And I wear it to like every volleyball tournament that we have right now with our daughter who's currently in club volleyball. So good. Um, I will buy all the things to do that, you know, to, to make it loud and clear, but, um,
Dani Welniak (00:43:12):
That's, you're such
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:43:13):
A
Dani Welniak (00:43:13):
Good supportive mom. Let's go.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:43:14):
Oh, thank you. Let's go. Yeah. I am all for it . Um, but I'm a very driven and passionate person myself. I think both in life and like for sure. You know what I want to do and I of course wanna like instill that in our daughters as well. Yeah. The other thing I love about soccer is the international aspect of it. Like obsessed with, I always have been, before KC Current, before I even moved here, I was always drawn to, um, professional soccer because I feel like it just get like the experience of, I remember moving here and going to, um, a sporting game. Okay. Friends had invited us and I just remember feeling like I wasn't even in Kansas City. Okay. Like I felt like I was in Europe, you know, because you think of Europe when you think of professional sports Okay. Or professional soccer, at least I do. And I just love the idea that this is kind of representing that to me, which is like bringing all these cultures from around the world together. Yeah. I think it's amazing. Um, especially for where we are in the world today and to show all the incredible cultures and people and um, the things we can do together. Yeah. You know, different languages or whatever. It's fantastic. It's so
Page 33 of 59
Dani Welniak (00:44:12):
Fun. And I think that's
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:13):
Part
Dani Welniak (00:44:14):
Of like what makes it so special and
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:17):
So unique
Dani Welniak (00:44:17):
Too, is that it is an international sport. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:20):
I love hearing that Japan is looking to you guys. Exactly. That gives me the chills.
Dani Welniak (00:44:23):
Isn't that crazy? Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:24):
And
Dani Welniak (00:44:24):
You don't really think about that when you're like watching a soccer
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:27):
Match
Dani Welniak (00:44:27):
Yeah. Or a football match or as you're, you know, going into work every day trying to be the best football club in the world mm-hmm . Like you are a part of something that's so much bigger than yourself. Yeah. And while like, you know, you have like American pastime sports of baseball and things like that, soccer just brings something so different to the table. Yeah. And the experience is so different and we hope that at the Kansas City currency, PKC stadium, like you get to feel that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:53):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:44:54):
But you also feel like this is like your home and you are so welcome here. And this is something that is, is more than soccer.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:01):
Page 34 of 59
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:45:01):
Um, it's a place that can be a community asset. Yeah. And can be where like you wanna take your family on a Friday night.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:08):
Absolutely. Okay. So let's talk about World Cup.
Dani Welniak (00:45:10):
Yeah. Let's go.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:11):
Can we kind of go back to, I don't know if there's an easy way to sum up, how did Kansas City get on the radar for however this happens to be chosen as a city? I mean, I'm sure that's a loaded, loaded. How much time do we have? Question. I was gonna say, but I'm like, where do we need to start? How do we even, you know, like I just, 'cause you guys have the Netherlands Yep. That chose your facility. Yep. So talk about that.
Dani Welniak (00:45:33):
Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:34):
And what to expect with that and how do we as fans, like get to engage with this in any way, shape or form. First
Dani Welniak (00:45:40):
Off, have you seen like the viral videos of their fan bases and like them wearing
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:45):
Yes, I have.
Dani Welniak (00:45:45):
And like
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:46):
I've seen the one where there's like thousands of people in the street. Yes. 'cause it's their orange. Is it orange? Yep. Yeah, it's their account. And I think they invited you guys on in this talking about Instagram and Yes. I mean they're like moving to the side, right? Yeah. And then they have like whatever heads or something are happening, but I was like, oh my gosh. Yeah. It gives you the show. It's
Dani Welniak (00:46:03):
So cool. Yeah. And I just think it so resonates with like, who we are.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:07):
Page 35 of 59
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:46:07):
Um, I'm sorry, that's so detracting from like where the origin of that question became.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:11):
No, I mean, I'm
Dani Welniak (00:46:12):
Just gonna be like,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:13):
We'll take it wherever we want. Yeah. Let's go. We can, we
Dani Welniak (00:46:15):
Can just do this.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:15):
We can talk about how the Netherlands ended up choosing, you know, Casey. So,
Dani Welniak (00:46:19):
Um, but yeah, the process has been in the works for quite some time now.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:22):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:46:22):
And shout out to Kathy Nelson and her team for spearheading this and making this even an opportunity for Kansas City. Mm. I think it's fascinating how we've gone from, you know, being Kansas City and hoping that we have like a really big team here to now having three of the top what, like 20 teams
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:37):
Yeah. In
Dani Welniak (00:46:38):
The world, in Kansas City. And we have four total teams in the Kansas City metro.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:42):
Unreal.
Dani Welniak (00:46:43):
Just unreal and phenomenal. Mm-hmm . Um, but again, back to the point of like, Kansas City is really special. Yeah. And once you get here and you see it, it's life changing. Yeah. And it shifts your perspective. So with that being said, the Netherlands process has again been a process, but they
Page 36 of 59
loved it from the start. And they loved the University of Kansas Health System training facility, which is our KC Current training facility in Riverside. Mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:47:07):
.
Dani Welniak (00:47:08):
For a multitude of reasons. First off that it's so centrally located, which is great. Yeah. Um, our training facility is not just built for women, it's built for world class athletes. And so everything in there and how it's built is specifically designed for soccer players. Yeah. And so whether you're out on the world class
pitches, you literally come off onto the turf. You have a cafe right there. You have all of your weight training equipment, like everything that you need is right there. Mm-hmm . And so they loved that. They also loved the fact that it's built for staff so the staff can be there with the team and it's all centrally like in one place and very easy and accessible. Um, and then also like just Kansas City being the population and being secure and those opportunities. Super powerful. Yeah. Um, I did think it was interesting, I just heard this the other day, was that part of the Netherlands decision was because they are so passionate about their women's soccer. Mm. And so coming here and being able to be a part of this and seeing what we're doing here in the us, um, was, might not have been a huge part of the decision, but it still
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:15):
A factor factor. Certainly part of it. Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:48:16):
So
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:16):
That makes sense. I love that.
Dani Welniak (00:48:17):
Um, they've been phenomenal to work with. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:19):
We're
Dani Welniak (00:48:20):
So excited to host them. I cannot wait to see how they do. Like, we're just gonna put the vibes out there. Yep. The Dutch go really far. Yep. Um, and like, they've just been, they've been awesome. So being able to say that you have Argentina here, you have the Netherlands here, you have England here. Um, Algeria at Rock Chalk is just like, yeah,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:39):
That's right.
Dani Welniak (00:48:40):
It's so fun. It's so fun to be a part of. And I can't wait to see how it just like unfolds here in Casey.
Page 37 of 59
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:45):
Is your husband a soccer fan?
Dani Welniak (00:48:47):
He's,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:47):
He's a KU guy. He's a sports fan, right?
Dani Welniak (00:48:48):
He's a KU guy.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:49):
Yeah. Yes. Okay.
Dani Welniak (00:48:50):
And he loves all the things sports. So he's an incredible supporter of myself and of my career path. And um, what's even better is that if you would've told me like six or seven years ago that my daughter would be a soccer player, I would've been like, okay. Maybe mm-hmm . Um, but she loves soccer and he is like soccer dad number one. Great. And like,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:11):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:49:12):
Girl dad to a tee. Like I, I love every second of it. They go out to the field. She
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:16):
Must love bring your daughter to work Day . Although that's probably just every other day for her. I was
Dani Welniak (00:49:22):
Gonna say, she just has to come with me to the stadium every once in a while. Like
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:26):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:49:26):
What I just took her to just over the, the previous summer with, um, premier League lacrosse coming into
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:33):
Town.
Dani Welniak (00:49:33):
Page 38 of 59
Mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:33):
. Yeah. We
Dani Welniak (00:49:33):
At ES PN out at the stadium, and they're there from like, you know, like 6:00 AM until like midnight.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:40):
Sure.
Dani Welniak (00:49:41):
And so I, I told my husband, I was like, she's coming to work with me today. Yep.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:45):
Like,
Dani Welniak (00:49:45):
We're just gonna run around the stadium.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:46):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:49:47):
And sure enough, she did. So
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:48):
She had the time of her life.
Dani Welniak (00:49:49):
I, I hope that it's impactful and that she at least gets to see like a decent role model of her mom, you know, working in sports, being
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:55):
A
Dani Welniak (00:49:55):
Grinder. Yeah. Um, but also being exposed to things that I think a lot of other young kids don't.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:59):
For sure. Yeah. What are other things that we need to know about Netherlands, the other teams being here? Are you guys doing any additional events or activities or Honestly just FIFA in general. I wanna know, what's your advice for people to take full advantage? I mean, I don't have tickets to a game. I have no idea how this even works. I'm gonna be honest with you. , I'm like, I wasn't a part of a draw or
Page 39 of 59
whatever it was. I dunno how much tickets are now, but for the general people that are out there wanting to know how they can engage with fifa, what would you tell us to do? Yeah. And follow. And I
Dani Welniak (00:50:30):
Think it's less about engaging with FIFA and more so about engaging with the community. Okay. And the things that are going on around here in Kansas City. Because I think what people underestimate is just the power of how our fans will show up, even if it's not going to a game. Okay. And just how much the community is investing. Time, effort, energy, blood, sweat, and tears to making sure that the fans who come in internationally for these teams have a really good time and
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:50:52):
Experience
Dani Welniak (00:50:53):
The best of Casey. But also that we want our local fans, people who just love soccer or who just love, like being in an environment
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:01):
That
Dani Welniak (00:51:02):
Happen,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:02):
The energy of it happening in their hometown.
Dani Welniak (00:51:05):
It's in your backyard,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:05):
Right? Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:51:06):
So I know that we're planning to take advantage of that. Um, we'll probably have some sort of watch parties down at the current landing.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:13):
Okay.
Dani Welniak (00:51:13):
Um, when our district opens mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:15):
.
Page 40 of 59
Dani Welniak (00:51:15):
Um, and so like that piece of it, like just pay attention to what the local teams are doing. Okay. Pay attention to what, especially the Kansas City current are doing, obviously, um, because we wanna make that such an experience that, to my point before we wanna go past soccer. It's not just about soccer, it's about the experience. It's about our fans. It's about creating a world class mm-hmm . Environment that, um, people can say like we were a part of or you were there when,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:43):
Right.
Dani Welniak (00:51:44):
Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:44):
Okay. So you mentioned the landing. Mm-hmm . What is happening with that? What can we expect? You guys are obviously involved in the plans for all of this. Is it just literally, is it connected to the stadium? Like, I have not been down there recently, so talk to me about that and what we can get excited about. So
Dani Welniak (00:51:59):
It's literally right next to the stadium. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:01):
Um,
Dani Welniak (00:52:01):
It's the first mixed use district adjacent to a women's professional stadium.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:05):
Which
Dani Welniak (00:52:06):
Surprise first, first,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:08):
First, first.
Dani Welniak (00:52:09):
But it's really incredible the trajectory of just how, um, mixed use districts mm-hmm . And stadiums have become like the example and what will, for us, it's gonna change the riverfront. Yeah. And so to have a like, culinary epicenter, we've unveiled a few of our chef partners mm-hmm . Or restaurants that are gonna be coming down there. Um, chef Stephane, um, we have Revel that's gonna be down there. Um, really excited about some of the other ones that we'll roll out too, because
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:42):
Page 41 of 59
It
Dani Welniak (00:52:43):
Just shows that these award-winning world class chefs see Kansas City as a preeminent destination for that. Yeah. Mm-hmm . And that we have foodies that will travel and, um, really wanna take part in something that, you know, Kansas City hasn't had before.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:01):
Yep.
Dani Welniak (00:53:01):
So I think that's a really cool piece of it. It's going to be a place that fans and people and Kansas Ians can live, work and play. Mm-hmm . Um, our town center is gonna be activated all the time. Um, we really want to like, host again, like watch parties, not just for like World Cup stuff Sure. But also for like current matches and for other big events that are going on. Like, we wanna have concerts down there. We wanna have, um, community
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:27):
Festivals.
Dani Welniak (00:53:27):
Oh, that's
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:27):
Fun. Yeah. So is there gonna be, would that mean that there's like a stage, some sort of like entertainment?
Dani Welniak (00:53:32):
There is an area for that in our Town Square . So, um, between that and the Plaza and like just creating an a space where there's restaurants, there's bars, there's retail. So fans can come down there early before Casey
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:45):
Current match. I'm so excited.
Dani Welniak (00:53:47):
Do some stuff.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:47):
Yeah. Um,
Dani Welniak (00:53:48):
Make
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:48):
Page 42 of 59
A whole day out of it.
Dani Welniak (00:53:49):
Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:50):
And then
Dani Welniak (00:53:50):
Stay afterwards if they wanna go, you know, get a bite to eat for dinner or depending on what time the match is, like you could just spend all day out there. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:57):
And
Dani Welniak (00:53:57):
So I think that that's, um, something that Kansas City should be ready for because it's gonna be awesome.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:02):
Yeah, I bet. Yeah. Did you say how many, um, home games are in a season? Did I miss that?
Dani Welniak (00:54:07):
Uh, no. I, we have 16 teams in the NWSL. So I think like with Teal Rising Cup and we're gonna have some CONCACAF games this year. Okay. Because
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:17):
Qualified
Dani Welniak (00:54:18):
For that. All
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:19):
Right. So
Dani Welniak (00:54:20):
I think we have, I think we have 32 games. Okay. Um, just from the regular season perspective. And then we'll have obviously two Teal Rising Cup matches. Yeah. CONCACAF dependent and then, you know, two playoff games in a championship. So.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:35):
Okay. No shortage. Let's
Dani Welniak (00:54:36):
Go.
Page 43 of 59
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:37):
I was gonna say, is there anything else we need to add that's happening in 2026? 'cause I feel like we could keep going.
Dani Welniak (00:54:42):
Um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:42):
Did we miss anything? Gosh,
Dani Welniak (00:54:44):
I just feel like there's always something happening at the Kansas City current.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:48):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:54:48):
And, um, I love, I love it when Angie and Chris get to do media availability and they are, they'll drop the mic and they'll be like, just wait. We've got some surprises in store.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:00):
Yeah. And you're
Dani Welniak (00:55:01):
Like,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:01):
Big storm coming.
Dani Welniak (00:55:02):
Great big
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:02):
Storm
Dani Welniak (00:55:03):
Coming. The kits we just released our kits, um, our new storm kits, so it's the first time in history that we'll have a third kit.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:10):
What's the storm kit? So
Dani Welniak (00:55:11):
Page 44 of 59
The storm kit is the third kit for the Kansas City current. We have our teal kit, which, um, has the map of Kansas City on it. And then we have our Heartland Red kit, which is our primarily home kit. Um, and then the storm kit will be a, it's called our storm color, but it's a like storm dark blue, and then it has
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:30):
These
Dani Welniak (00:55:31):
Teal like vibes and like, almost like, I don't wanna say waves, but like, almost like an electrical current mm-hmm . Kind of running through it. And, um, it's, so
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:43):
When does that come out?
Dani Welniak (00:55:44):
Today?
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:45):
Oh, .
Dani Welniak (00:55:46):
Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:46):
Perfect timing. I
Dani Welniak (00:55:47):
Know, right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:47):
Although this won't come out today. This
Dani Welniak (00:55:48):
Doesn't come out
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:49):
Today. So it
Dani Welniak (00:55:50):
Came out this week. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:52):
It
Dani Welniak (00:55:52):
Page 45 of 59
Came out in February
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:54):
Just now. Yes.
Dani Welniak (00:55:55):
. So really excited. Um, yeah, because it does provide something a little bit different for fans and, um, it'll be, the team will wear it in select matches in 2026. So a lot of cool things coming down the pipe and um, yeah. Just my biggest thing is get out. Yeah. Get your tickets, come support, like it's a blast. No brainer. And, um, also like merchandise. Mm-hmm . Buy your teal stuff. Wear it around Kansas City.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:56:19):
I do have my pants on. These are cherry co
Dani Welniak (00:56:22):
Teal though. Let's go.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:56:24):
So have you ever seen these?
Dani Welniak (00:56:25):
No.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:56:26):
Okay. So Thea is the owner behind, um, cherry Co. And she has, so I originally bought these in red, red, white, and black. Okay. Um, she sells 'em at Maiden kc. Yeah. And they're like the track pants and No, they don't completely snap off, but I feel like this is really awkward. Half the fun.
(00:56:40):
I know, right. But, um, then I saw that, I said, you have to make these in black because I love black. And she goes, um, we do actually. And then come to find out they have teal. And so I was like, bam. So of course I had to wear 'em today. I'm on it. That will be see next. Yeah. Thank you. I know. And, and she has the KC uh, what is it, like varsity letterman kind of jacket too, which I love. Need to Yeah, I definitely have that. I was gonna say, I need to add that to my collection. Yeah, for
Dani Welniak (00:57:02):
Sure.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:57:02):
Um, real quickly, the meaning behind current for everybody who doesn't know. Yeah. Where did Casey Current come from?
Dani Welniak (00:57:06):
Okay. So I'll shorten it. Um, basically it's, it represents the undercurrent of the Missouri River and the Missouri River undercurrent flows at one of the fastest speeds in the us and so
Page 46 of 59
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:57:21):
Who knew?
Dani Welniak (00:57:21):
I know, right?
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:57:22):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:57:22):
So, um, that's where the kind of origin story of current came from. And I think it's really, it spotlights the intention to detail from Angie and Chris mm-hmm . In that like, they knew that their bigger picture vision was that they wanted to have a women's stadium at some point. They wanted it to be on the
Missouri riverfront. They wanted to activate that area. And so as they were making all of these plans for the team, and as they were creating this bigger picture vision, like the current was a piece of that mm hmm . And a part of that. And I know, um, like the color, the Teal was very intentional because of, um, their daughter brought it up and Okay. Um, mentioned how powerful and impactful and notable that color is. And so to dive into crops to her I know right. So much more than like the teal color, the heartland red, um, the storm blue. It's amazing to see just the origin story of this team mm-hmm . Um, but also that even in the name the current, there was such passion and pride in Kansas City
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:33):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:58:33):
Um, that the origin story literally is in and of itself.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:38):
Yeah. It's brilliant. Casey.
Dani Welniak (00:58:39):
We're
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:40):
Making waves, right? So
Dani Welniak (00:58:41):
Well, you gotta be careful 'cause there's San Diego waves,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:43):
So, oh, shoot. Sorry, I take that back. Um,
Dani Welniak (00:58:45):
Yeah. You know, edit
Page 47 of 59
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:46):
That out. No . But
Dani Welniak (00:58:49):
It's, it's the power of the undercurrent. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:51):
So,
Dani Welniak (00:58:52):
And the power of the current. So Perfect.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:54):
It's
Dani Welniak (00:58:54):
Pretty cool.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:54):
Good. Okay. Um, we're gonna get into just a couple of fun rapid fire questions here. Oh,
Dani Welniak (00:58:59):
Let's go
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:59:00):
For you. Okay. But anything else that we haven't touched on that we wanna talk about with Current World Cup? Um, Brazil, Denmark, you name it.
Dani Welniak (00:59:08):
Hmm, great question. Um, we've talked about a lot, but I also just like reinforce the fact that women's sports is a sustainable business model. Mm-hmm . And I go back to the story of Angie Long has told me multiple times, we're not in this for charity. We are in this to make money, and we believe in the product and the power of what the Kansas City current is. Mm-hmm . And so I think sponsors, partners, anything that you can do as a business owner to support, to show up, to show out, even if it's as simple as getting tickets
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:59:45):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (00:59:47):
You should do it because it is something that not only is worth your while, but it's also something that is impacting and changing the world Yeah. Um, for generations to come. Yeah. And so I will
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:59:59):
Be a part of it,
Page 48 of 59
Dani Welniak (01:00:00):
Be a part of it for the rest of my life. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:03):
Um,
Dani Welniak (01:00:03):
We here in Kansas City, the fans like, we can't do it without you. And Yeah. Um, we hope that you feel the same way about the Kansas City current in that like, you couldn't go about doing your daily life without us either.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:17):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (01:00:18):
And so, just so grateful, so excited. Um, and I just hope, I hope that all of the fans definitely know Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:27):
That
Dani Welniak (01:00:27):
Like the KC Current can't do this without you. And, um, we look forward to just how much more we can impact Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:34):
Um,
Dani Welniak (01:00:35):
Not only Kansas City, but also, uh, the world.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:38):
No, and I love that. And I was just thinking too, I, you could not even articulate how much work you guys have done to make this a reality. So thanks to you guys, I mean, this is massive to be a part of it, whether you're in Kansas City or you're not, I mean, this is incredible for all of us, for females, for males, for kids,
for elders, for everybody. Yeah. I mean, this is huge. Yeah. Which makes me wonder, like, do you guys even think about five, 10 years from now, ? Is that a cliche question to ask?
Dani Welniak (01:01:02):
It's not a cliche question because we're always thinking yet far ahead.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:01:05):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (01:01:05):
Page 49 of 59
Because, you know, that just where, just how far women's sports has come Yeah. In the past, I mean, five years since I've been here. Yeah. And even longer, just the past decade, it's grown exponentially. Mm hmm . And the numbers prove that from both a broadcast standpoint and from an earned media standpoint, from a marketing standpoint, from a partnership dollar standpoint. Um, but that's just happened in the past five years. So that
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:01:30):
Is wild to think about. We can
Dani Welniak (01:01:32):
Only only get excited and set our expectations and goals for the same exponential growth in the next, you know, five years or a decade.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:01:40):
Yeah. Well, you guys have some incredible partners making amazing apparel and everything else too. couldn't even possibly shout out all of them, but we'll do that somehow. So let's go.
Dani Welniak (01:01:48):
Shout out Jocelyn Monroe. Let's go.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:01:49):
There we go. Okay. Let's do what is currently on your Kansas City bucket list. Ooh, what do you wanna check off your list?
Dani Welniak (01:01:56):
That's such a great question because I, um, my daughter has revised like what my bucket list looks like. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:05):
Because
Dani Welniak (01:02:05):
Like
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:05):
Before a stage of life. Yeah,
Dani Welniak (01:02:08):
Absolutely. Um, but ooh,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:11):
Shout out to Cam.
Dani Welniak (01:02:12):
Shout out to Cameron. Let's go. Let's go. Uh, this was on my bucket list was being
Page 50 of 59
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:16):
On your podcast. Oh, thank you. So can
Dani Welniak (01:02:17):
I just check that off now? Is that good?
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:18):
I'll just pay you under the table right now. . Yeah. Great
Dani Welniak (01:02:21):
Deal. Yes. Um, gosh, I
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:27):
You could do, what are some of the favorite thing? What would you recommend to other, um, parents with? 'cause Cam is how old?
Dani Welniak (01:02:33):
Uh, she's five. Five,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:34):
Yeah. Okay. So what are some of the things that you guys love to do or want to do?
Dani Welniak (01:02:37):
Highly recommend a going to a Kansas City current game.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:40):
Yep.
Dani Welniak (01:02:40):
Um, b the rabbit hole is phenomenal.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:42):
I still haven't been, I gotta, what? I know Don't even, don't even start with me . My gosh. That was listed. It's like embarrassing that I haven't been
Dani Welniak (01:02:48):
One of the top 100 places to go in the world on
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:50):
Side of our studio. I know, I know. It's like, I'm gonna do it. Um, like this weekend you
Dani Welniak (01:02:54):
Gotta go,
Page 51 of 59
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:55):
You gotta
Dani Welniak (01:02:55):
Go. It's amazing. And then the Kansas City Zoo is so like, phenomenal. Like we have season passes and
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:00):
Love the zoo. I
Dani Welniak (01:03:01):
Spend every day at the zoo.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:02):
Have you been to Jazz Zoo yet?
Dani Welniak (01:03:04):
No. Do
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:05):
You know what it is?
Dani Welniak (01:03:05):
Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:06):
It's an event. You have to go?
Dani Welniak (01:03:07):
Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:07):
Every June.
Dani Welniak (01:03:07):
Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:08):
I, uh, sit on the restaurant committee.
Dani Welniak (01:03:09):
Oh, okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:10):
A lot of, a lot of foodie connections here.
Page 52 of 59
Dani Welniak (01:03:11):
Excellent.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:11):
Um, so I help with, uh, like, you know, bringing the restaurants in. But honestly Jazz Zoo is one of the most fun events to do. You get dressed up, they have a different theme every year. Yeah. You walk around, they have like five different live, um, entertainment stages of music. Okay. And so definitely add it to your list at some point. So Alright.
Dani Welniak (01:03:27):
I'm here for that. That'll be, there you go. Jazz zoo's on my bucket list. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:29):
Perfect. Um, what are some of your favorite places to eat out in Kansas City? Oh my gosh. Local restaurants.
Dani Welniak (01:03:34):
I love Minsky's. Yeah. Um, because I am a huge pizza fan. Like pizza, we love Minsky too. Pizza every day. Mm-hmm. All the time. Yeah. And my daughter loves it too. Yeah. So like, game on. Um, so that's gotta be my number one. Um, but I also love, like, I've now experienced so many new restaurants Yeah. 'cause of our restaurant partners Uhhuh. So like, Billy's grocery is like
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:54):
Love Billy's grocery
Dani Welniak (01:03:55):
Fire. Mm-hmm .
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:56):
Mm-hmm .
Dani Welniak (01:03:56):
So good. And then of course you can't go wrong with Joe's.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:59):
Yeah. What do you get at Joe's?
Dani Welniak (01:04:00):
The Z-Man, come on.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:01):
Obviously you have to.
Dani Welniak (01:04:02):
Who doesn't? Right?
Page 53 of 59
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:03):
I know. I feel like, do you know they have a t-shirt out there that you can buy with the Z-Man on it, so you might need to get that
Dani Welniak (01:04:07):
For
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:07):
You or your husband.
Dani Welniak (01:04:08):
Okay. That's happening.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:09):
They sell it at Rally House.
Dani Welniak (01:04:10):
Me, that's for me.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:11):
It's
Dani Welniak (01:04:11):
Game
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:12):
On. Um, okay. Who would you recommend to be on my podcast? Who should we hear from?
Dani Welniak (01:04:16):
Oh my gosh. I am such an advocate for our president, Raven Jemison.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:22):
Okay.
Dani Welniak (01:04:23):
She is a phenomenal leader. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:25):
Um,
Dani Welniak (01:04:25):
But more importantly, her background and coming from, uh, previously like the big foreign men's sports and now taking over as a president of a women's professional organization mm-hmm . Um, she is just like, I could listen to her speak all day.
Page 54 of 59
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:42):
Great.
Dani Welniak (01:04:43):
So let's line her up for the next one.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:45):
Let's line her up for sure. Okay. Not being from Kansas City, are there any other aspects you wanna shout out about what you love living here,
Dani Welniak (01:04:52):
What you love about it? I love that it is such an incredible place to raise a family. Great. And coming here, originally I came for the sports. Like, I was like, let's go the football, the baseball, the soccer, like sign me up. Um, but now I live not very far from Shawnee Mission Park. Mm. And the fact that there are outdoorsy options Yeah. That you can go kayak or you can go bike, or you can literally go to a playground that's not even like five minutes away or there's like 10 playgrounds within walking distance. Right. Um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:24):
That's a good point.
Dani Welniak (01:05:25):
I I just love raising her here. And, um, I have heard so many other good positive things about raising kids in
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:32):
Kansas City.
Dani Welniak (01:05:33):
Yeah. Um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:34):
I can vouch for that, whether
Dani Welniak (01:05:35):
That's the Missouri side or the Kansas side, like shout out both sides.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:37):
Yeah.
Dani Welniak (01:05:38):
And so I just, I love the people and I love, I love raising Cameron here.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:43):
Shawnee Mission Park is great, although I will say do not do those, um, paddle boats. . Okay.
Page 55 of 59
Dani Welniak (01:05:49):
Do
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:49):
You know what I'm talking about? The ones Yes. That you like? Those are so hard. We did that a couple years ago and I was like, kids, girls, husband, let's all do this. And everybody was, it sounds like a good bond. Miserable. I'm like, yeah, do the kayak, do the sailboat, whatever. Don't do the paddle. But those things are like manual labor, so.
Dani Welniak (01:06:05):
Okay. Good.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:06:06):
That's good to know. We're try this.
Dani Welniak (01:06:07):
Know, we, we have our own kayaks, so we
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:06:08):
Oh, good. Perfect. We just
Dani Welniak (01:06:09):
Pop 'em in the back of the Jeep Gladiator and we roll. Good
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:06:11):
To go. Okay. Perfect. All right. Um, where can people find KC Current or you follow you guys? Let us know.
Dani Welniak (01:06:18):
Okay. Kansas City current.com is the best place, like the hub for everything that you need to know about the Kansas City current. You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, blue sky, you name it, we're on it, we're doing the thing. Um, and then I am just, you know, good old at Dani wk, you know, on Twitter. Yeah. So, um, I try to be relatively active on there, but since I don't have to be Right, like I was in news. Yeah. Um, it's like, you know, every once in a while, like you get a little picture of km or like, you get
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:06:44):
Like Yeah.
Dani Welniak (01:06:44):
Me amplifying and talking about the cool things that the Kansas City current are doing. So Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:06:48):
People get to be a little envious from afar of the life that you're living with the KC Current. So a
Page 56 of 59
Dani Welniak (01:06:52):
Hundred percent . Absolutely. Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:06:54):
And shout out to the KC Current social team, whoever they are. The, they're doing amazing work. They best. Yeah. They're so good. I would love to meet them. 'cause they're very, um, creative and talented. They're super creative, they're
Dani Welniak (01:07:03):
Super talented and man, you wanna talk about grinders like that
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:07:06):
I bet. Works
Dani Welniak (01:07:07):
So hard and works just relentlessly.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:07:09):
So. Yeah. And they're clever. So good. They're so
Dani Welniak (01:07:11):
Smart and witty. I hope I could be half as witty as them maybe
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:07:14):
Day. Oh, I know. It does give me my brain.
Dani Welniak (01:07:16):
I'm like, oh, that's so funny. I would've never thought of that. .
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:07:19):
Right. I know. That's the best. Uh, well this has been amazing. Thank you.
Dani Welniak (01:07:23):
So
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:07:23):
I could talk to you for hours. I know, right? You're doing amazing things. Yeah. Take this off, off record. We'll take it off record. We'll get together. Yeah. Get our girls together. Whatever we wanna do. Um, but truly, I admire what you've done. Like you're so accomplished. Being a part of that team is, um, enviable. Like you guys are doing amazing things. It gives me the chills, like I've said multiple times on the podcast
to know what KC Current is doing for women in the world. So, um, huge props to the longs and all of you guys. This is so fun. And, um, we'll certainly get more people from the team in. So Yeah.
Dani Welniak (01:07:52):
Page 57 of 59
Yeah. Please. And thank you. Like, again, my team is just so incredible and like I could not do what I do without them. Yeah. And, um, having this opportunity at this point in time, like, I firmly believe that you and your position, me and my position, like we were made for such time as this. Yeah. And I hope that fans who are listening to this take some inspiration from that. Yeah. And recognize that like we are living in such an incredible moment in time.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:08:16):
Yep.
Dani Welniak (01:08:17):
Soak it all in. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:08:18):
Take a
Dani Welniak (01:08:19):
Deep breath and just enjoy it
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:08:20):
And cheers to an amazing year with, um, coach Chris.
Dani Welniak (01:08:23):
Yeah,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:08:24):
Armes. Oh,
Dani Welniak (01:08:25):
We're gonna have so much fun. I'm so excited.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:08:26):
Whatever we call him.
Dani Welniak (01:08:27):
So just, you know what, if he breaks out in some stellis, , just FairWarning everybody. But no, it's gonna be a
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:08:33):
Happen long
Dani Welniak (01:08:33):
Time. I'm really excited.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:08:34):
Awesome. Well, thank you so much.
Page 58 of 59
Dani Welniak (01:08:35):
Thank you for having me.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:08:37):
Thank you so much for tuning in and finding inspiration in these incredible stories. If you love what you hear, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Leave a rating and share the show to help these Kansas City voices reach even more listeners.