The Power & Light District in downtown Kansas City compares favorably to any entertainment district that I've ever seen. Mass Street in downtown Lawrence is what Main Street in Pullman wishes it was. The area around the Kansas Speedway has a Great Wolf Lodge (if you have kids), Schlitterbahn (huge water park) and some good restaurants. Also if you have kids, the Kansas City Zoo is huge. The Westport bar district in KCMO is a little sketchy at times, but it's a hell of a place to party. If the timing is right, Sporting KC has a pretty good atmosphere if futbal is your secondary love. If you like gambling, there are a number of casinos in the metro area.
Although the scenery in northeast Kansas isn't going to feature the mountains that you'd see in Washington, you can rest assured that anyone who wants to have a good time in the metro area will find it. I would personally never want to live in the Kansas City metro area because it's too big for my liking, but it is a good place to visit. I'm disappointed that it's a decade out because that's such a long window it borders on meaningless, but this will be a good trip for WSU fans.
You'll definitely want to go to Manhattan when the Cougs play the KSU Wildcats in 2026. Aggieville kicks ass over any place that you've ever been to (outside of Madison) when it comes to college bar districts. Imagine every bar in Pullman that's worth going to within a 2-3 block walk of each other. If you golf, they have a terrific golf course in town. Tailgating at KSU will make you realize how badly WSU fubars the pregame atmosphere in Pullman. Manhattan is remote enough that WSU fans will feel at home in the wheatfields. Manhattan is basically Pullman/Moscow combined with a better bar district.
