Locals share excitement for World Cup transportation plan to connect metro
A new bus system will take fans to 15 locations across the Kansas City area
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - With less than 200 days until the World Cup, KC2026 released a new transportation plan to bus fans from the FIFA Fan Festival at the National World War I Museum and Memorial to more than a dozen stops around the metro area.
The plan includes 15 different locations spanning from Lawrence to Liberty and Lee’s Summit to the Legends, including Oak Park Mall.
Amy Krug, who lives near Oak Park Mall, said her family is excited for the opportunity to show off the area.
“Yes. It’s a clean mall. It’s very, very clean. It’s not trashy. It’s not dirty,” Krug said.
Businesses prepare for international visitors
Krug said the new transportation plan could help share economic benefits across the metro.
“To me, I’d rather them come and spend money, bring more tax dollars to the city, and probably they’ll like what they see,” she said.
Baris Sener, who owns the Soccerium in Oak Park Mall, said he expects the World Cup to bring a different level of business.
“I know it’s going to be big and we’re going to be ready for it,” Sener said. “We get used to seeing all the soccer fans around like week in, week out. But when you hit the international base, I believe that’s going to be a completely different experiment.”
Sener said customers ask daily about World Cup preparations.
“We don’t know where the people are going to come from. We don’t know the volume of it,” he said.
Security concerns raised
Krug, who lived in Las Vegas during the Super Bowl, said security should be a priority for the transportation stops.
“Security would be my main concern. Beefing up security, making it tighter with everything that’s going on in the world right now,” she said. “Making sure that security is really, really tight and not lax.”
Sener said the mall provides a perfect environment for visitors.
“It’s a family-friendly environment, first and foremost. And it’s inside, indoors,” he said. “We will be glad if we can pull the people over here for the World Cup. But I think the other businesses here are going to have some sort of benefits out of this, too.”
KC2026 plans to utilize more than 200 buses over a month. The World Cup draw is happening on Friday.
Copyright 2025 KCTV. All rights reserved.
