Why was KC World Cup traffic worse than Chiefs games? Local officials blame FIFA
Local leaders are pointing to FIFA’s handling of entry into Arrowhead Stadium as the cause of bumper-to-bumper traffic and long lines to get into the city’s World Cup debut on Tuesday.
By accounts of numerous fans, traffic and parking at the stadium was a nightmare. Many attendees posted on social media about their dismal experiences.
Some said they walked for miles because their transportation could not get them close enough to the stadium entry. Even some fans who used KC2026’s park-and-ride shuttle service said they were on the bus for more than an hour because of the traffic.
Mayor Quinton Lucas said in response to the mess that the city will work with FIFA and local organizers “to ensure commute times and entry and exit points are safe, efficient, clearly marked, and reliable for future matches via any method of transportation.”
The traffic jam on Tuesday, which backed up vehicles on Interstate 70 for miles, was apparently caused by FIFA’s limited use of entry gates at Truman Sports Complex.
The Missouri Department of Transportation typically oversees state highways. A spokesperson for the state agency directed questions about highway traffic issues around the match to KC2026, the local organizer around the tournament.
A spokesperson for KC2026, which oversees the shuttle service to the stadium, said the match was an “extraordinary success” for the city, but acknowledged that some fans faced significant delays getting in.
The organization pointed to FIFA’s handling of entry as the cause.
“The primary challenge occurred at stadium entry, where operational constraints created congestion that affected all modes of transportation arriving at the venue,” the spokesperson said. “While decisions regarding stadium entry operations primarily rest with FIFA, based on yesterday’s experience, KC2026 and its partners have provided specific recommendations to improve operations ahead of Saturday’s match.”
The organization did not elaborate on what changes it suggested for FIFA to make.
It’s not clear why FIFA restricted the number of entry gates. A Kansas City-based official for FIFA did not immediately respond to The Star’s request for comment.
State Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat, was one of the thousands of fans who attended the match with her family but ran into a frustratingly difficult entry.
Nurrenbern told The Star that her family was stuck in traffic on 435 Highway because of delays into the parking lot. She said her family did not make it into the stadium until 30 minutes after kickoff because of the delays.
“That’s absolutely maddening,” Nurrenbern said. “I know multiple people who got stuck, literally stuck and couldn’t get in, because they were sitting on 435 and I-70.”
Nurrenbern said she and her family have been attending Kansas City Chiefs games for years, and she’s never seen such slow traffic into the complex.
She also said a major reason for the slow down appeared to be FIFA originally only using a few of the entry gates.
“Normally on a Chiefs Sunday, we’re able to move 80,000 people in and out of here really quickly,” Nurrenbern said. “But there were so many gate restrictions, so all of the gates weren’t open and it was a hot mess.”
Nurrenbern said FIFA eventually opened more gates to alleviate the traffic jam. She said she hopes that the kinks get worked out for the future matches in Kansas City.
