Workers in trucks, carts and forklifts were buzzing around Kansas City's FIFA Fan Festival grounds Sunday morning, the day after Argentina defeated Switzerland in the city's final World Cup match.
The city, which has hosted six World Cup matches and hundreds of thousands of Fan Fest visitors, expects everything to be back to normal by July 24.
For the first time since June 11, when Fan Fest opened, traffic flowed down Main Street, where it had been blocked in front by the Federal Reserve building by barriers and Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers.
The huge law enforcement presence, which included police from 11 states supplementing Kansas City's 1,100 officers, apparently kept the festivities quite peaceful.
The Kansas City Police Department said it made only eight arrests during the entire event: three at Arrowhead Stadium and five at Fan Fest.
Increased bus operations meant to serve World Cup visitors by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority also dialed back Sunday.
The routes returning to normal operations are:
- 12, 12th Street
- 24, Independence
- 31, 31st Street
- 39, 39th Street
- 47, Martin Luther King Jr.
- 63, 63rd Street
- 201, North Oak
The KC Streetcar Authority said it saw record ridership during Fan Fest.
Kansas City's role in the 2026 World Cup may be largely over, but the tournament isn't. Semifinal matches will take place this week, with the final match scheduled for Sunday, July 19, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
And two teams that have made their base camp in Kansas City — Argentina and England — are still in play. They will face each other on Wednesday in Atlanta.
Kansas City has drawn national and international attention during the tournament.
“Not since the 1920s, when Kansas City was the 'Paris of the Plains' because it was still a place that served alcohol during Prohibition, has it stood shoulder to shoulder with New York and Los Angeles, local boosters say," the New York Times reported this weekend.
