Downtown KC traffic will be affected by Netherlands’ Orange Walk. What we know
The “Oranje Fanwalk” by fans of the Netherlands on game day might be mindful of a Chiefs or Royals parade along Grand Blvd., with one notable exception.
“In the Chiefs parades, we’re not all participating in that,” said KCPD Major Abigail Martinez. “It will be a procession of everyone who wants to join.”
Thousands of orange-clad Dutch fans — and orange-clad friends — are expected to participate in the march that will begin at the Power & Light District.
Fans will gather around 9:30 a.m. and the march, which will follow an orange double-decker bus, will begin around 11 a.m.
It will proceed down Grand until reaching Pershing Road, near Union Station. Martinez said there will be street closures but wasn’t specific beyond that.
“Part of keeping people safe in large crowds is keeping vehicles from mixing with those crowds,” Martinez said. “We will have streets shut down when we start to see those crowds gather. There will be an impact on traffic, so if you’re working downtown or traveling through downtown, make sure that you arrive early and are traveling safe.”
About 10,000 took part in the march before Holland’s game in Houston on Saturday. Fans walked from Rice University to the stadium, but a march to Arrowhead, where Netherlands meets Tunisia at 6 p.m., won’t happen.
Where can fans go when the Kansas City march ends? Fan Fest is scheduled to open at 1 p.m., for those that have registered.
Rain is in the forecast for Thursday. Fan Fest closes down if lightning is within eight miles of the World War I Museum and Memorial or if the event experiences wind gusts of 35 mph or sustained winds of 30 mph.
Some 147,000 have passed through Fan Fest in the first eight of 18 days it is scheduled to operate, and a big crowd is expected Thursday with the Netherlands-Tunisia game at 6 p.m., followed by the U.S. game against Turkiye.