A fanwalk midday Thursday saw legions of Netherlands supporters march from downtown Kansas City to Crown Center — likely besting similar “Oranje Army” fan parades this month ahead of earlier World Cup matches in Texas, according to beacon technology from a Kansas City-based crowd-tracking startup.
Netherlands fans crowd around the KC Streetcar stop outside Union Station in hopes of gaining access to FIFA Fan Festival on the grounds of Liberty Memorial; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
The orange-clad crowd across the downtown area peaked at 36,496 people at about 12:45 p.m., just before gates were expected to open at FIFA Fan Festival at the National World War I Museum, said Jonathan Ruiz, co-founder of EB Systems, alongside Brendan Waters.
“The fanwalk had similar energy to past Chiefs parades, but was much more interactive,” said Ruiz, whose LaunchKC-backed company uses mobile apps, proximity-based sensors and wearable Bluetooth devices to create real-time location, reporting, and alerting systems. Collected data typically is paired with brands or municipalities that can analyze it to learn more about customer trends and engagement.
