A major Kansas City redevelopment project that officials hoped would be completed before the 2026 World Cup will not be ready by the beginning of the tournament.
The Barney Allis Plaza is currently undergoing construction, downtown across the street from the Municipal Auditorium. The city hoped it would be one of the primary "focal points" during World Cup festivities.
A city website for the Barney Allis Plaza project describes the vision as a “thriving, arts-focused greenspace and street-level urban park” with a new parking garage, event space for festivals and pop-ups, and an area for food trucks.
Recently, the city selected Belgian artist duo Gijs Van Vaerenbergh for a $2.18 million commission to create a new public installation for the space.
But Kansas City Manager Mario Vasquez told KCUR's Up To Date that a water main break in December made it difficult for the project to realistically be completed by next June.
"We were hoping to get that completed by the World Cup. We had a couple of unfortunate incidents that caused delay and caused us to lose time," Vasquez said.
"So, we are hoping to get the garage completed, or partially completed, but the entire project itself will not be complete."
