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INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — More than a year after the formation of KC2026, the local organizing committee for the regional effort to host the World Cup, the city of Independence has formed its own committee to ensure it’s ready to capitalize when the world arrives in Kansas City.
“Obviously, in Independence, we’re right on the edge of Arrowhead Stadium, so a lot of folks probably will choose to stay in our hotels and eat in our restaurants,” said Morris Heide, the director of Independence’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department. “It’s just making that preparation, talking about details on hotel stays, transportation, all of the behind-the-scenes items that go into place for an event like this.”
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GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium is slated to host six games, including a quarterfinal, during the 2026 World Cup, but it also brings an unprecedented challenge.
There will be thousands of visitors from across the globe who will need a place to sleep, places to eat and ways to get around town.
Some may face a language barrier and many may be in town for several weeks, perhaps even a month or more with three potential base-camp sites in the Kansas City area.
“We’ve never dealt with the magnitude of the influx of folks to the area for this level, at least in my lifetime,“ Heide said. “The idea of preparing for various languages, various cultures, folks with different backgrounds — how do you ramp up for that?”
That’s what Independence’s newly formed World Cup committee aims to advise the city about.
“It’s a 21-member committee, trying to have stakeholders from various groups — the Chamber, businesses, interested citizens — really trying to leverage and ramp up for this event,” Heide said.
Tom Waters, the president of Independence-based Corporate CopyPrint, will chair the committee, which also includes former Independence Mayor Eileen Weir among other members.
The committee will be “looking at public/private partnerships and other opportunities — coming up with ideas, trying to brainstorm, trying to capitalize on that economic stimulus, that impact that will be coming in with all those folks visiting,” Heide said. “We’ll come up with a plan then present that to the mayor and council.”
Heide said Independence’s committee hopes to coordinate with and supplement the work of the KC2026 committee, which has seen upheaval in recent weeks.
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Katherine Holland, who was named KC2026’s executive director in June 2023, resigned from her post and Kansas City Manager Brian Platt also left the committee last month.
Arrowhead already has hosted two major soccer events in 2024 — an MLS match between Sporting Kansas City and Inter Miami FC, featuring Lionel Messi, and USMNT’s Copa America group-stage loss to Uruguay, which eliminated the national team and precipitated Greg Berhalter’s dismissal.
Soccer-specific renovations to the Chiefs’ home stadium are underway and the venue has drawn praise.
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