Over the course of the last four weeks, soccer fans descended on the Kansas City region from every corner of the globe for the 2026 World Cup.
Dutch fans filled the streets for their iconic Oranje Fanwalk and the city of Lawrence fell in love with the Algerian men's national team. Then, in the final match in Kansas City on Saturday, a stadium packed with Argentina fans watched as their country — who had been staying in town at the Berkley Riverfront for the entire tournament — clinched a spot in the semifinal.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas told KCUR's Up To Daet that he believes the metro was an excellent host to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who came to town.
“I think it’s a nine out of 10 at least in terms of, 'Did we hit our goals to brand Kansas City, to build something really memorable?' And we sure did,” Lucas said.
Not everything went perfectly. Major traffic issues occurred during the first match in June, and many small businesses complained that they did not see the bump in sales they expected — or that the tournament actually hurt sales.
But overall, Lucas says he thinks the city proved that it is capable of managing events of this scale.
“I think that what this tells me is we need to continue to push ourselves,” he said. “We need to continue to do things, not be concerned, and frankly believe in greater opportunities for ourselves long term.”
And that’s exactly what Kansas City hopes to do with the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2031 Rugby World Cup, both of which could feature games hosted here.
Another thing that Lucas hopes to keep for Kansas City: the 65-foot-tall heart-shaped arch at the FIFA Fan Festival.
Lucas said he wants the gateway to stick around, specifically on the grounds of the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
“I went to Fan Fest a number of different days, and that was where this central focus," Lucas said. "And actually, not unlike the shuttlecocks on the Nelson Lawn, it does a good job of relating to and framing the Liberty Memorial behind it.”
Lucas said officials are looking to secure the funding needed to purchase and adapt the structure, which was designed by local architecture studio Populous and intended to be a temporary installment.
Lucas also hopes the World Cup will push lawmakers to seriously consider funding for regional transit after the success of the ConnectKC2026 shuttle service and the KC Streetcar.
The streetcar set a monthly record for ridership in June, with 698,000 trips taken.
“And hopefully, this World Cup shows, wait, it's cool to get around," Lucas said. "People talking to me about, ‘Yeah, I loved catching the streetcar to Fan Fest.’”
In the meantime, bus service that increased during the World Cup will return to regular schedules.
