Kansas City celebrates one year until World Cup comes to City of Fountains
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The countdown is on! Kansas City plays host to the World Cup in 2026, and the city continues to ready itself for the global event.
Dignitaries from across Kansas City, including Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, unveiled a giant World Cup countdown clock in the Grand Hall of Union Station Wednesday morning.
KC2026, the organization tasked with planning and executing the Olympic-sized event in Kansas City, announced at the Union Station that two of its primary “ers” will be Populous and Nestlé Purina PetCare.
Populous, which is based in Kansas City, is routinely recognized as one of the world’s premier design firms for sports venues. The firm’s work includes Arrowhead Stadium, Children’s Mercy Park and Kauffman Stadium.
Purina operates 11 manufacturing, research and corporate office facilities in the six-state KC2026 marketing territory (Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma and Arkansas), ing for roughly half of its total U.S. workforce, the organization stated.
“We are incredibly proud to have the of both Populous, a global design firm specializing in sports and entertainment, headquartered in Kansas City, and Purina, a leading pet care and nutrition company deeply rooted in our Animal Health Corridor,” KC2026 CEO Pam Kramer said in a statement. “Their commitment as Host City ers signifies our talent, strength and diversity as a region that has already arrived on the world stage. Kansas City is prepared to showcase its vibrant atmosphere, strong sports culture and economic opportunities to 650,000 visitors and five billion viewers worldwide.”
The public is invited to a massive Kansas City Kickoff party on June 22 at the Aspiria Campus in Overland Park. The free community event will be held from 12-5 p.m.
Arrowhead Stadium will be home to six matches, including four group-stage games, one round of 32 and one quarterfinal game.
The group-stage games are scheduled for:
- Tuesday, June 16
- Saturday, June 20
- Thursday, June 25
- Saturday, June 27
The round of 32 is scheduled for Friday, July 3, and the quarterfinal matchup will be July 11.
The FIFA Fan Festival will be held on the south lawn of the National WWI Museum & Memorial and will accommodate 25,000 fans at a time.
In its bid to be a host city, Kansas City beat out several larger metro areas, including Orlando, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Other FIFA World Cup 2026 host cities include Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Monterrey, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver.
Read more coverage on the World Cup coming to Kansas City here.
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