Thousands of international soccer fans and millions of dollars are expected to descend on Kansas City next year as the city hosts six world cup matches. Lawrence officials and organizations have begun preparing to claim a slice of the pie.
The impacts are expected to be huge. Six games will be played at Arrowhead Stadium, including a quarterfinal match.
“For each of those, the impacts they estimate are similar to what a Super Bowl would be,” said Steve Kelly, vice president of economic development for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.
KC2026 is the organization in charge of planning for the World Cup in Kansas City. CEO Pam Kramer called the World Cup the “biggest event to ever happen in Kansas City.”
In recent months, Lawrence organizations created a unified command, similar to what was formed for COVID-19 response, in preparation for the World Cup. Partners include the City of Lawrence, Douglas County, the University of Kansas, Explore Lawrence and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.
Members of the unified command said the World Cup will present an opportunity for Lawrence on the global stage.
Still up in the air is whether Lawrence will be a team base camp, which would mean hosting a national team at Rock Chalk Park. National teams are expected to make their base camp decisions in late 2025 or early 2026.
If Lawrence is selected as a team base camp, Assistant City Manager Brandon McGuire said they’ve been told to expect about 15,000 people to embed in Lawrence for six or seven weeks.
“It’s a great opportunity for Lawrence on the world stage,” McGuire said. “For Lawrence and the university and our business community and our downtown and, you know, all of these great strengths that we have in this community. And so we want to be well prepared to take advantage of it.”
Lawrence’s preparations for the World Cup include seven main focus areas: safety and security, public services and infrastructure, culture and experience, economic opportunity, transportation and housing.
McGuire said each area is being studied and divided up among members of the unified command.
“I’d say so far, the collaboration and the engagement has been really exciting,” McGuire said. “Everybody who we’ve extended invitations to join our planning initiative has shown up.”
Kramer said in a statement they are expecting a $650 million economic impact from the World Cup across Kansas and Missouri.
One challenge planners face is how late team base camp decisions are made. They won’t know if Lawrence is selected as a team base camp until the end of this year, leaving only six months before matches kick off in Kansas City.
McGuire said the quick timeline makes any preparations they can do now crucial.
“We’re all working very collaboratively,” he said. “It’s a great group of people who are passionate and have a lot of subject matter expertise.”
Whether they are selected or not, the unified command is anticipating strains on city transportation, housing and public services. They’re considering plans including collaboration with other nearby cities to create park and ride programs or share police officers.
Kelly said the unified command wants to begin as much prep as possible, including communicating with other cities that have played a similar role in past major sporting events. They hope that if they can diagnose possible problems soon, they will have plenty of time to take necessary actions.
Discussions have begun on what topics might require city government intervention, including changes to laws on short-term rentals and alcohol consumption.
Officials have discussed how they might bolster or alter public transit routes to best serve the masses of people coming for the event. And roadwork typically done over the summer might need to be moved or done strategically to make sure increases in traffic during the World Cup don’t coincide with crucial lane closures.
KDOT announced recently it is delaying expansion of Kansas Highway 10/the west leg of the South Lawrence Trafficway in Douglas County to avoid congestion during the World Cup.
Whatever actions are taken, Kelly said they want to make sure the event is beneficial for the city in the long run.
“It’s an opportunity that you want to take advantage of in a positive way and make it the best opportunity that you can for us,” Kelly said. “And a lot of that comes down to how well are we prepared?”
Kelly said many people in the U.S. may not recognize the economic magnitude that world soccer carries.
Kramer, the KC2026 CEO, said they are expecting the event to bring both an immediate economic impact as well as long-term impacts.
As members of Lawrence’s unified command prepare, they are hoping to leverage the University of Kansas and other partnerships to drive long-term economic benefits.
“Hopefully there are some partnerships forged, or relationships forged, and connections made that lead to ongoing impacts,” Kelly said.
The economic windfall that planners are anticipating coming to the Kansas City area will alone provide a boost to Lawrence, Kelly said. But the more Lawrence can do to draw people into the city will help the economic impact grow even bigger.
Kelly said the unified command is still exploring what opportunity they will have for local events and sponsorships by communicating with FIFA what the regulations are.
“It’s gonna be a lot of work,” Kelly said. “There’s no question about it. This is a big, big deal.”
There are a handful of reasons Kansas City could be an attractive area for international visitors. It is centrally located, which would make transportation across the country easier. It has a lower cost of living than major coastal cities like New York City or Los Angeles. And Kansas City has developed a strong soccer core, often nicknamed the “Soccer Capital of America” and boasting the first purpose-built stadium for women’s professional sports in the KC Current’s stadium.
McGuire said he was not aware of any specific economic analysis done for Lawrence or Douglas County. But they are anticipating seeing a chunk of the estimated $650 million coming to the Kansas City area. Hosting a team base camp would only increase the impact.
“The broader impact to the region is potentially very significant,” McGuire said. “And we think, you know, being so closely located to the metro, which will host the actual matches, and then being, you know, a popular tourist destination in Kansas and the Midwest, as well as having kind of some global notoriety through the University of Kansas and the Jayhawk mascot, I think we would expect to see some economic benefit.”
McGuire said he hopes when people in Lawrence look back on the World Cup, they can feel pride that their city was represented well on an international stage.
He hopes international travelers will feel welcome and take the time to learn about Lawrence’s history.
“We belong on the world stage and we can do it safely and we can do it efficiently,” McGuire said.
Kansas City’s selection for the World Cup was unique. Of the 11 U.S. cities hosting matches, it is the only one selected from the Midwest, with most coming from major coastal cities.
“Then you look at all this great expanse of what really is America, right?” Kelly said. “And we’re the one location that has a site. We have a site, but Chicago doesn’t. Minneapolis doesn’t. Denver doesn’t. I think that’s very cool.”
When the U.S. last hosted a men’s World Cup, in 1994, both Detroit and Chicago hosted matches, but not Kansas City.
Kramer said KC2026’s preparations have been going on for years, but have started intensifying lately.
“We and FIFA are confident in our ability to host a safe and seamless tournament,” she said. “Our capabilities as a host city were demonstrated in our initial bid and we remain on track in every planning area.”
Kelly hopes they can look back and say Lawrence rose to the challenge of playing a part in such a major event.
“I appreciate the magnitude that it has,” he said. “Not only from, again, the economic opportunity. But the opportunity that you have, maybe once in a generation, to have people from all over the world in this region.”
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Cuyler Dunn (he/him), a contributor to The Lawrence Times since April 2022, is a student at the University of Kansas School of Journalism. He is a graduate of Lawrence High School where he was the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, The Budget, and was named the 2022 Kansas High School Journalist of the Year. Read his complete bio here. Read more of his work for the Times here.
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