We could not have imagined a few years ago that the Dream It Do It campaign would lead to this, but it has, and we are grateful and pleased.

We have a large, diverse and well-educated work force that is highly productive, and that helps.

The Kansas City economy will continue to mirror the U.S. economy, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. One advantage Kansas City enjoys when it comes to job creation is a very diverse mix of industries. We have a well-balanced portfolio.

We learned recently that the economics of the proposals in the competing cities would be hard to beat. These were elements outside of our control and we know that our proposal is visually compelling, attractively located, experientially state of the art and financially sound.

I sort of feel like I felt when I watched the USC-Texas (Rose Bowl) game last night. Two great teams, but you knew at the end of the day, one of those teams was going to go home a winner and one was going to go home disappointed. We are disappointed. We are not discouraged.

We learned recently that the economics of the proposals in the competing cities would be hard to beat. These were elements outside of our control and we know that our proposal is visually compelling, attractively located, experientially state of the art, and financially sound.