Is Kansas City ready for 650,000 World Cup visitors? Could be even more than that
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- VisitKC raises visitor forecast above 650,000 as Argentina, Netherlands draw fans.
- Kansas City expects nine-day average stays and seeks multiple team base camps.
- City will host group matches, a Round of 32 and quarterfinal match.
Soon after learning which teams were assigned to Kansas City for group-stage games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Kathy Nelson recalibrated the number of visitors she is expecting here in the heartland.
The original estimate of 650,000, already a stunning figure, might not be high enough.
“You think about the caliber of teams coming here, I kind of expect that number to go up,” said Nelson, who serves as the president and CEO of VisitKC and the Kansas City Sports Commission.
Kansas City landed teams boasting fan bases with a reputation for traveling as the match schedule was announced on Saturday.
Argentina, led by superstar Lionel Messi, will open defense of its World Cup championship against Algeria on June 16. In 2022, some 35,000 Argentinian fans traveled to Qatar to watch their heroes defeat France for the title.
“We know there will be millions, if not billions, of eyeballs on us at that point,” said Pam Kramer, president of KC2026.
On June 25, Netherlands meets Tunisia — and a “Dutch Orange Army” of supporters will be out in force.
“We’ve been thinking about marches to the match for a while, so now we’re really going to put that into practice,” Kramer said.
Ecuador plays Curacao on June 20 and Algeria meets Austria on June 27 as national teams and their fans make Kansas City their destination for a few days.
The island nation of Curacao is the smallest country by population (156,000) and size to qualify for a World Cup. Kramer said Kansas City, as the smallest U.S. site to host World Cup games, can relate.
“We know something about being the smallest in a field of heavy hitters,” she said.
Nelson noted that four of seven teams playing group-stage matches in Kansas City — Algeria will play here twice — can arrive by air with a single layover.
“I think international fans will get to know Kansas City quickly and realize how easy it is to get here,” Nelson said.
Kansas City also will be the site of a World Cup Round of 32 game on July 3, which will include the winner of Group K, where Portugal is favored. A quarterfinal match here will take place July 11, with a possibility of an Argentina-Portugal matchup.
The United States Men’s National Team also could have Kansas City on its post-group-stage path.
Kramer remains optimistic Kansas City will land multiple base camps, where national teams and their fans would set up headquarters during their World Cup stay.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of competition for base camps,” she said.
Nelson said their research has suggested the average World Cup visitor to Kansas City will stay for an average of nine days.
“We could not be more thrilled with the draw,” Kramer said.
This story was originally published December 6, 2025 at 6:12 PM.