World Cup

Hotel rooms, buses, and liquor laws are just a few of the problems that Kansas City will need to figure out in the next year, before the first World Cup games kick off at Arrowhead Stadium next June.

Kansas City is exactly one year away from the first FIFA World Cup match at Arrowhead Stadium. KC2026 CEO Pam Kramer joined KCUR's Up To Date for an update on how the nonprofit is working through security and helping businesses prepare.

The wildly popular, sprawling public art installation plans its next display for April 2026, spanning the city's World Cup run. As many as 150 “Heartists” will be selected to turn blank canvas sculptures into expressions of Kansas City’s cultural identity and community pride.

Kansas City Council set the money aside to encourage small businesses, artists, and makers to move into the city's highly visible, but vacant, storefronts before the 2026 World Cup. “When visitors from all over the world visit next year, we need to be open for business,” one member said.

The group planning Kansas City’s matches hopes to build a regional transit network that gets residents and hundreds of thousands of visitors across the metro quickly and easily. They’ll need more money and regional cooperation to do so.

Twelve Kansas City restaurants, breweries and other businesses were chosen this week for grants to expand patio space — including adding furniture and lighting, painting murals and more.

Some Kansas Citians on social media have criticized the way that the KCPD and Mayor Quinton Lucas responded to a march of masked white nationalists last weekend. In a wide-ranging conversation, Lucas defended his comments, as well as discussed the Royals' search for a new stadium, his recent trip to Qatar and fixing public transit.

Big decisions loom at Kansas City Hall — including preparations for next year’s World Cup matches, building a new city jail and managing a budget amid financial uncertainties.

Kathy Nelson is the president and CEO of both Visit KC and the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation. She joined KCUR's Up To Date for our series "5 Questions."

Kansas City will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup next summer, the smallest city in North America to join the festivities. Is the city equipped to handle the huge influx of tourists and their transportation and housing needs?

Kansas City is expecting 650,000 visitors next summer during the 2026 FIFA World Cup — more than the amount of people who live in the city. A leader of the KC2026 coalition says that preparations are already well underway for transportation and hosting both fans and teams.

After Lee's Summit leaders announced plans to change the name of their airport to the "Greater Kansas City Regional Airport," Kansas City Council approved its own plans to establish a policy around the use of the name "Kansas City."