photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas hosts Ohio State during the collegiate soccer season opener at Rock Chalk Park on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022.

Although still two years away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Lawrence is hoping to capitalize on Cup fever set to descend upon Kansas City and to play host to a visiting national team.

Back in June, FIFA, the governing body that runs international soccer competitions, listed Lawrence in its first edition of its Team Base Camp Brochure, which includes 24 locations at which some of the 48 qualifying teams for the World Cup may choose to set up shop during the summer of 2026.

Jason Booker, the deputy athletics director for External Affairs and Revenue Generation at the University of Kansas, said if Lawrence was selected, the teams would train at KU facilities, including Rock Chalk Park, and would stay nearby at the StoneHill hotel on Rock Chalk Drive.

Booker, who also is the chair of the KC Sports Commission that helped bring six World Cup matches to Arrowhead Stadium, said that in visits to Rock Chalk Park, FIFA officials were impressed with the facilities, noting that the turf and grass would compare well to what English Premier League teams play on.

But the built-in benefits of being in a campus community — immediate access to laundry facilities, multiple athletics facilities from KU’s 16 varsity sports, access to interpreters because of the university — is something that FIFA officials told Booker makes a lot of sense as a base camp.

“All those different facilities and training and other extras that we’re used to doing is a huge benefit,” Booker said.

Booker thinks Kansas’ central location is also a benefit for teams. The 48 teams in the World Cup might need to not just play matches cross country, but also cross nations since Mexico and Canada will also host some matches. If teams have matches in Los Angeles, their flights are cut in half from being right in the middle.

Booker also said that since the Jayhawks charter flights out of Topeka, the travel distance is even less for teams than if they left from the Kansas City airport.

Although KU has taken the reins to attract teams as a base camp, other city organizations are helping to see how to welcome a potential influx of visitors.

Kim Anspach, the executive director for Explore Lawrence, said the city knows it’s going to see visitors from across the world descend upon the Kansas City area. She said FIFA officials shared stats with officials in Kansas City about the reach of big sporting events. In the Super Bowl in Las Vegas in February — won by the Kansas City Chiefs — for every ticket sold, an estimated five people showed up in the area to be in the atmosphere. For World Cup matches, it is estimated that for every ticket sold, 20 people show up in the market to be near the action.

Anspach also believes the World Cup’s schedule helps add to the possibility for more visitors. Since there are three days between matches, people staying in Kansas City can branch out and explore more of the area in between the six matches — including a quarter-final — that Arrowhead Stadium will host.

“We have a unique opportunity to welcome thousands of visitors into Lawrence and help increase that economic impact,” Anspach said.

Her organization has already assisted KU in efforts to host by helping coordinate visits from FIFA officials in 2023 that were exploring hotels. Anspach said Explore Lawrence also is putting together a collaborative team with the city and county to work on logistics and event planning before 2026.

Anspach said if Lawrence was chosen as a base camp by a national team — FIFA estimates say those sites bring an additional 15,000 people — it would be unprecedented for the city in terms of boosting global visibility.

Planning for those possibilities starts now, Anspach said. Although Lawrence will not know whether a national team will base itself here until 2025 after the qualifying phase for the World Cup concludes, the city is hoping to ensure everything can be in place to play host and to offer some good old-fashioned Midwestern hospitality.

“Whatever team we get, Lawrence will be their biggest fan. Unless you’re playing team USA,” Anspach said.