For World Cup, these KC residents will need a pass to enter their neighborhood

Everyone gets it: Sure, you need a ticket (way costly) to enter Kansas City’s 2026 FIFA World Cup games.

And, OK, you need a pass (free!) to be among the 25,000 fans allowed at any one time into the official FIFA Fan Festival near Union Station on the grounds of the World War I Museum and Memorial.

But a city pass to enter your own neighborhood?

So it will be — but only on the six game days — for the residents living in the 95 or so neat bungalows and small ranch homes tucked in a neighborhood just off Kansas City’s Blue Ridge Cutoff and within both eyesight and earshot of GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium — where the World Cup matches are set to roll out.

Like so much of sports, the pass requirement put out by KC2026, the games’ host city organization, has both fans and detractors.

Some people love the idea. “I think it’s perfect,” said Des Beard, 28. “People are coming from all over the state and all over the country. “

Beard said he’s got two kids, ages 8 and 5, and he doesn’t want hundreds, if not more, cars cruising through or parking in his neighborhood, putting the kids at possible risk.

But others, like Debra Lawson, who owns two homes along East 43rd Terrace, are not happy.

“Not on your frickin’ life am I getting a permit,” said Lawson, who sees the passes, meaning tags for their cars, as an utter inconvenience. She’s lived for years in the area, directly across from the parking lot of Arrowhead Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex.

She said she never before needed a pass on either Chiefs or Kansas City Royals game days to enter her neighborhood. And, now, unless she’s forced to, with no other way to enter, she doesn’t intend to get a permit during the World Cup.

“Why didn’t they send them in the mail?” she said. “Seems like your driver’s license would be good enough to go in and out. It’s an inconvenience. l’ll just go the back way.”

Which may be possible. But if not?

“I’ll be pissed,” Lawson said.

How to get a permit

The neighborhood is not large, bounded by Blue Ridge Cutoff to the west, Ditzler Avenue to the east, and between East 43rd Street to the north and East 44th Street to the south.

Residents each received a letter from KC2026 explaining that the permit program was “designed to manage the increase in tournament traffic.” It said that on the six match days — June 16, 20, 25 and 27, and on July 3 and 11 — “a permit will be required” for vehicles to access the neighborhood.

It said that on match days, traffic management would begin four hours before each match and “up to” four hours after each match.

Permits are free. Residents were told that they could obtain one for each of their vehicles, whatever the number.

Requests for permits could be submitted online. The first pickup day for permits was on Wednesday, May 27, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

A second pickup day is scheduled for June 2, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Destiny Life Center, located next to the neighborhood, at 4207 Blue Ridge Cutoff.

To obtain a permit, individuals need to provide the make, model and color of their vehicle or vehicles and provide a form of identification proving one’s address.

Accepted forms of identification include a driver’s license, utility bill, mortgage document or lease agreement, a vehicle registration, bank statement or recent credit card bill.

Keeping residents from making parking money?

Janet Lee, a resident for five years, said on Thursday that she had no idea she would need to car tag hanging from her rearview mirror to enter on match days.

“That’s crazy,” she said. On Chiefs and Royals game days, she said, they simply come and go. She’s not certain why the World Cup would be any different, even if Arrowhead has a capacity crowd, as it often does.

One possibility, she said, is that, on crowded game days, some people in the neighborhood sell parking spots in their driveways or on even on grassy lots for about $30 a car compared to the $50 to $75 charged at Arrowhead. Parking for the World Cup is estimated to be even more — from $75 to $125 per vehicle during regular match days and as between $125 and $225 during the quarterfinals.

“They do it there, and down there,” Lee said, pointing to parking spots around the block.

Lawson, who is against the permits, suspects that limiting the traffic in the neighborhood is also a way to reduce the sale of parking outside of Arrowhead.

“They’re basically trying to benefit themselves,” she said of the World Cup organizers, “and make it more inconvenient for this area.”

Will a repairman be allowed in?

Tim Rasmussen, 72, has lived in the neighborhood for 50 years.

“It doesn’t really make a whole lot of difference to me,” he said. “I guess it’s a good idea. I suspect they’re expecting a lot of traffic through here on game days. It’ll keep people out of the neighborhood who don’t belong in the neighborhood.

“It’s not going to be any different than what we put up with on a Chiefs game day when we have 80,000 people coming through. We usually just come in the back way and don’t go over on Blue Ridge.”

Rasmussen picked up his car tag on Wednesday, having one concern.

“Only question we had,” he said, “is, say, like you had something go wrong and you had to have a repairman come in. What are they going to do, are they going to have to have a special permit to come into the neighborhood?”

Rasmussen said he asked when he picked up his tag on Wednesday.

“They didn’t give us an answer when we went down there yesterday,” he said. “They said they would look into that.”

If friends or family want to visit?

“We didn’t really ask a question about that,” Rasmussen said. “I guess you just tell them not to come over on those specific game days.”

This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 5:00 AM.