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Kansas City’s summer heat is truly no joke — something that international visitors are quickly learning. And if you think this weather is bad, I hate to say it: You ain’t seen nothing yet.
With the tournament officially beginning Thursday, and Kansas City Stadium’s first match scheduled for next Tuesday, soccer fans have been eagerly arriving and exploring the city. The first thing they noticed? It’s grossly hot outside.
To start off the week, the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for Kansas City, with temperatures hovering around 90 degrees and humidity up to 80% — a combination that feels like you’re walking through a thick, boiling swamp.
These conditions have been closely documented by @sidequestdad on TikTok, a British soccer fan living in Kansas City who’s taken on the role of weatherman for World Cup travelers. (He’s also evangelizing one of our great heat-beating tricks: the Sonic drive-in.)
I remember when I first arrived in Kansas City, exactly five years ago as of next Friday. Following a 12-hour drive from Ohio, we arrived at our midtown apartment just before midnight to find that, despite the sun long disappearing from the sky, it was still 100 degrees outside. Oh, and the air conditioning inside our apartment was broken. We slept in the basement for the first few days.
This type of summer heat is not just uncomfortable, but it’s also potentially dangerous if you’re active and not staying hydrated. Your sweat can’t actually cool you down. And very soon, dozens of world-class athletes will be playing soccer in this environment.
A recent NPR investigation found that one-third of World Cup matches are at high risk of dangerous heat and humidity — including one of Kansas City’s games, the June 25 matchup between the Netherlands and Tunisia.
Another third of the tournament will pose a moderate risk for heat, with caution advised for sensitive groups. That bucket includes four Kansas City games, including the round-of-32 and quarterfinal matches.
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This threat isn’t theoretical: Just two years ago, an assistant referee collapsed due to heat illness during an international Copa América soccer match at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Temperatures that day were 93 degrees, with 53% humidity — not far from what we’ve experienced this week.
None of these heat problems are new — KCUR has been reporting for years on heat-related deaths and injuries at high school sports practices across Kansas. If one wonders why FIFA would choose such hot places for games, remember that thousands of migrant workers in Qatar died while constructing World Cup venues and infrastructure before the 2022 tournament.
So what is FIFA doing to address the heat this time around? For starters, most of Kansas City’s games start in the evening to avoid the worst of the sun’s spite. All matches will have mandatory water breaks, plus air conditioning on the sidelines for players and staff on the bench.
As for spectators, you’ll now be able to bring in “one, soft, plastic, 20 ounces (590ml), factory sealed disposable water bottle” to stadiums. That’s a real turnaround: Just last week, FIFA temporarily banned refillable water bottles from all stadiums, possibly out of commercial interests. The organization instantly received overwhelming criticism from the public and government officials, who pointed out that this was yet another example of FIFA putting fans far below profit.
At Kansas City’s fan fest, a 30,000-square-foot canopy, misting machines and large fans will offer ways to cool off, local organizers told KCUR. Although early looks at the festival grounds show there’s not much shade on that massive, tree-less lawn in front of the stage.
Attendees will also be able to bring in empty plastic water bottles — not metal or glass — and refill them at designated water stations. However, there will only be four stations for the entire festival, which has a capacity of 25,000 people. That math may not add up.
When I head to a World Cup game in a few weeks, I’ll certainly bring the largest permissible water bottle I can. Because after five years of dealing with Kansas City’s summer heat, I don’t play about hydration.
Kansas City opens transit hub for new shuttle service
Get ready to see World Cup shuttles zipping around Kansas City. Starting this Thursday, June 11, the ConnectKC26 transit service will finally be up and running.
The heart of Kansas City’s temporary circulatory system is a bus mall at 27th and Grand Boulevard, just two blocks from the FIFA Fan Festival — which also opens Thursday. Need a ride from the airport? Heading to one of the World Cup matches? Want to join the festivities but you live in the suburbs? This is your ticket.
Riders need to book tickets in advance, but they’ll be able to use RideKC’s normal mobile app, Transit. “It is trip planning, door-to-door, and it’s also going to show real-time arrivals,” KC2026 transportation consultant Meghan Jansen said.
While the motor coaches provide air conditioning, the bus mall has only limited tent spaces for riders trying to get out of Kansas City's summer heat. But you can bring that refillable water bottle on board.
KCUR’s Cassandra Isobelle Flores has our story.
‘I spent thousands of dollars to see my team play in the World Cup. I still don't have tickets’
KCUR health reporter Noah Taborda spent the past year preparing to travel to Mexico to watch the Colombian national team at the World Cup with his dad and younger brother.
Taborda’s dad, Freddie, waited hours in FIFA’s online queue to score “last chance” tickets at face value… only to be booted back to the start of the line when the overwhelmed webpage buffered.
On the official FIFA marketplace, tickets for two games in Mexico went for well over $1,000, unless you wanted to run the risk of purchasing through unofficial channels. The only Colombia game in the U.S. is sold out, with resale tickets going for over $2,000.
So, without tickets in hand, why are Noah and his family still heading down to Mexico?
“For a kid who had a dream of watching the World Cup, this World Cup has been financially disappointing,” Freddie said. “If I’m able to put that aside, I still get goosebumps at the fact that there will be thousands wearing different colors celebrating outside the stadiums.”
Read about Noah Taborda’s journey, and his family’s personal soccer story.
Readying KU's soccer field for Team Algeria means precision 'down to the millimeter'
World Cup pitches for both practice and matches have to conform to specific FIFA guidelines, so there’s literally an even playing field for competing teams.
As the grounds maintenance supervisor for Kansas Athletics, James Massey and his two-person crew are responsible for providing the Algerian men’s national team a perfect practice pitch at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas.
Each day for the past several months, they groom, treat and protect the lush green field, which is home of the University of Kansas women’s soccer team. It’s a heady task for the 38-year-old Brisbane, Australia, native, who joined the KU team in April.
“We're competing with some professional fields — KC Current, Arrowhead, Sporting KC,” Massey said. “We're getting up against some pretty elite surfaces and, you know, we're pulling our weight.”
Team Algeria touched down in Kansas City over the weekend, so Massey’s work is now ready for primetime.
Scott Reinardy gets down and dirty for this story.
Kickin’ the ball around Kansas City
- Three tickets for three friends: Remember those Argentine cyclists who traveled 10,500 miles to Kansas City to support their team? They finally have actual game tickets, and nice ones, too — priced at $1,000 each. The trio was surprised with the donated tickets by Johnson County Commission Chair Mike Kelly at a Unity Cup event over the weekend. (Johnson County Post)
- Look to the skyline: Kansas City’s iconic Western Auto sign could be fixed and relit before the end of the tournament, after the city struck a deal with the building’s HOA to help fund repairs. (The Kansas City Star)
- Hertz, don’t it? Kansas City has seen a 40% increase in car rentals, outpacing other World Cup host cities. This could be a sign of optimism for local tourism — or it could be that visitors know they still need a car to access most of the Kansas City metro. (Fox4)
- Power up at P&L: Check out the full schedule for World Cup watch parties and entertainment at KC Live! and other locations across the Power & Light District. (Soccer in the City)
- British Invasion: Although Team England will stay in Prairie Village and train at Swope this summer, their notoriously rowdy fans may not get much of a chance to engage with the team locally. Details about an open training session have yet to be released. (Johnson County Post)
- Oranje Rising Way: Riverside greeted the arrival of Team Netherlands on Tuesday with a renamed street and orange-colored fountains. (KCTV5)
- Don’t get sick: Kansas City hospitals may be prepared for an influx of international patients during the World Cup… but those patients may not be ready for the labyrinthian, expensive healthcare options waiting for them in the United States. (The Beacon)
- No penalty flag: FIFA reserved up to 5,000 hotel rooms a night in Kansas City — a large chunk of the available accommodations in town for the tournament. Then it suddenly canceled nearly all of them, leaving local hotels with a ton of unfilled rooms and little time to make up the money. Oh, and FIFA didn’t have to pay a cancellation fee. It’s a trick they’ve pulled in nearly every host city — whether because of unmet demand, or a misguided attempt to drive up prices, it’s unclear. (The Kansas City Star)
- Violent weekend: A week before the first World Cup matches, Kansas City had one of its worst gun violence weekends in recent months, with two people killed at the QuikTrip on Westport Road and another nine injured at an unlicensed club on Troost Avenue. But contrary to what some national media outlets reported, the shooting was “nowhere near” England’s World Cup base — or any team’s training or lodging facilities. (Mayor Quinton Lucas on X)
Kickin’ the ball around the continent
- USMNT debrief: Here are four takeaways from the U.S. men's final tune-up games before the World Cup. (NPR)
- Fallen prices and empty seats: The USMNT’s opening World Cup match in Los Angeles still isn’t sold out, days before kickoff, and neither is Canada’s opening match in Toronto. Meanwhile, prices for many matches have fallen sharply on resale markets. Both trends underline how badly FIFA’s exploitative strategy has backfired by hurting demand. (NPR)
- Knicks in Five: New York officials are worried about a possible overlap between a World Cup game and the NBA Finals, meaning more than 100,000 people could be swarming through midtown NYC to attend the simultaneous matches. Hopefully the Knicks wrap up this series before it gets to that point. (NPR)
- Welcome to Miami Gardens: Hard Rock Stadium, which will host Miami’s World Cup matches, actually sits in a separate, predominantly Black community with its own important history. (WLRN)
- Sticking point: The gotta-find-em-all hobby of collecting World Cup stickers goes back decades, and the U.S. is finally getting in on the frenzy. For Kansas Citians who want to take part, I spotted the Panini mega box set this weekend at the midtown Costco. (NPR)
- No World Cup walkout: Workers at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles who had threatened to walk off the job during the tournament have reached a tentative labor deal, averting a strike. The negotiations revolved around better pay and protections from ICE. (LAist)
- CDC steps aside: The federal government is taking an unusually hands-off approach to preparing for the many public health concerns at this multinational tournament — not just heat, but also diseases like Zika, Ebola and hantavirus. (NPR)
- Interrogations and denials: Iraq’s World Cup squad co-captain was held for seven hours of questioning before being allowed entry to the U.S. The team’s photographer was denied, with no explanation. Omar Artan, a Somali referee set to officiate the World Cup, and who was named the best male referee in Africa last year, was denied entry by border officials in Miami even though he held a diplomatic passport and a U.S. visa. With the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns and travel hostilities causing an international outcry, but drawing little action on FIFA’s end, this is an issue to continue watching. (NPR)
Fit check
Huge news: I just got a sweet Kansas City-themed soccer kit in the mail, which I will be wearing to my World Cup game this month. So that got me wondering: What soccer gear are you rocking during the tournament?
Are you repping your favorite team? Did you grab the officially licensed FIFA merch? Or are you picking up one of the more Kansas City-specific fits made especially for the tournament?
Send me an email with a photo of your fit at gabe@kcur.org — let’s get a style section going for next week’s newsletter.
