International men’s and women’s pro basketball is coming to KC’s Municipal Auditorium

Professional men’s and women’s basketball players from around the world will be participating in a steady stream of international games at Municipal Auditorium during the upcoming five summers, it was announced on Tuesday.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Kathy Nelson, president/CEO of the Kansas City Sports Commission and Visit KC, joined World Vision Sports and Entertainment founder/CEO Daimon Beathea at an afternoon news conference revealing Municipal as the site of upcoming international men’s and women’s basketball events — one each month from June to September 2023.

Overland Park-based World Vision Sports & Entertainment will organize the international basketball games — and plans to hold similar events in Kansas City every year through 2027 — Beathea explained on Tuesday.

Men’s and women’s teams from the United States will compete against national teams from countries in Europe, Asia and elsewhere around the world during the first four events in Kansas City set for June 12-19, July 16-23, August 12-19 and September 19-26, all in 2023.

For the past several years, Beathea has held these summertime basketball events in China. A KC area resident for the last 10-plus years, Beathea said he decided to bring the games to this area — an area that Beathea, a former Michigan State basketball player, has learned has great interest in basketball.

“All the national teams (that will be playing in KC) are under the national federations registered with FIBA, the governing body of international basketball,” Beathea, a former college coach and NBA scout, said in a release distributed at the news conference.

“These teams regularly compete in FIBA’s regional events and major events such as the Olympic Games and FIBA’s Basketball World Cup. National teams — senior men’s and women’s teams — from several nations have already confirmed their participation,” Beathea added.

A fourth event this coming September will involve World Vision’s men’s and women’s teams from the United States competing against professional clubs from Europe, Australia and elsewhere. The World Vision teams’ opposition will be squads preparing for their upcoming seasons in their respective leagues in various nations.

“These national teams and their Olympic-level players have fan bases in their countries even more passionate than college and professional fan bases in the U.S.,” Beathea said.

He indicated all games would be streamed “globally so that basketball fans of the invited teams can watch their heroes play and enjoy the games.”

Beathea noted the U.S. men’s teams to play in KC would likely be made up of “ex-NBA players, a lot of G-League players, Euroleague players. We could potentially have some eighth, ninth men on NBA teams. There’s no rule against them playing in the summertime. There are some recruiting opportunities there.”

He said the U.S. teams would be different for each month’s games in Municipal, the tradition-rich downtown KC building that opened in 1935.

“There is 80 to 90% turnover rate (on each U.S. team),” Beathea said, noting one goal is to provide opportunities for a lot of U.S. men’s and women’s players. He receives help from agents and coaches in selecting the U.S. men’s and women’s teams.

He said an effort would be made to add representation from college teams such as Kansas, Missouri and Kansas State.

“That is a very big focal point, to make sure there is area flavor on the roster,” Beathea said.

“I see Mitch Lightfoot (former KU player) at the gym all the time, (we) may try to scoop him up,” he added, smiling. “I think there will be some (area) players that will fit at the FIBA level. It is not going to hurt to ask.”

As far as the format for each month’s events …

Each event will include four men’s and women’s teams.

As takes place in the Olympics, four teams will play a single round-robin format, culminating in a championship game and a third-place game.

In all, eight teams will play 16 games all within a week and all at Municipal Auditorium.

In all, 64 games will be played over the four months of 2023.

“We will also work closely with some local immigrant communities and international business exchange entities to bring some international flavor to our events through Fan Fests,” Beathea said in a release. “Players can also meet and greet their fellow countrymen and women, taste some authentic home flavors — even when they are far away from home — and enjoy themselves.

“In addition we will also work with some local educational organizations and charities and bring the teams to visit schools and underprivileged kids to inspire and encourage,” Beathea added.

World Vision Sports & Entertainment will announce participating teams, event logos, ticket prices and other event-related information in the weeks prior to the first event in June.

Mayor Lucas expressed enthusiasm about Beathea’s bringing international basketball to KC this summer and more to come.

“We are excited to announce we have a new partner, World Vision Sports and Entertainment,” Lucas said in beginning the news conference. “They will bring events to Kansas City between now and 2027. Those events will allow us to see national teams that come from countries in Europe, Asia and elsewhere in the world. And we are excited to have all of their families, friends, so many that are coming to stay at our hotels in Kansas City investing truly not only in our entertainment facilities but also our restaurants, our hotels, everything that Kansas City is all about,” Lucas added.

Nelson noted that “building a brand and international following, we are excited to host in Kansas City. And with the international world opening up to us with the upcoming World Cup (soccer event) in 2026 I can’t imagine a better first step into international sports than to welcome Daimon Beathea.”