photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

The entrance to the Lawrence Regional Airport is pictured March 26, 2025.

The Lawrence Regional Airport has been chosen to receive more than $600,000 from the state to improve a runway, and the airport’s manager says it will help ensure the airport is in “tip-top shape” ahead of the World Cup in 2026.

In a press release Thursday, Gov. Laura Kelly announced $14.5 million in grants for 47 Kansas airports through the Kansas Airport Improvement Program. Lawrence will receive $666,000 for design and construction of a pavement rehabilitation project on runway 1-19.

Scott Wagner, the city’s airport manager, told the Journal-World that runway 1-19 was the airport’s “crosswind runway,” which is a sort of backup runway that’s easier to land on during certain wind conditions. Wagner said the runway was in pretty good shape, but the grant will allow for a reconstruction project that will be important in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

Six matches, including a quarterfinal, are scheduled in June and July of 2026 in Kansas City, and planners have estimated around 55,000 hotel rooms will be needed within a 2.5-hour drive of Kansas City, as the Journal-World reported. Not only that, but the city is still in the running to be named as a base camp for an international soccer team during the tournament. KU’s deputy athletic director Jason Booker told members of Downtown Lawrence Inc. he “liked our odds” of being named a base camp for one of 48 teams next summer, as the Journal-World reported.

The grant for redesigning and reconstructing the crosswind runway comes on top of two grants worth around $375,000 from the Kansas Department of Transportation the airport received last year to rehabilitate the apron, which Wagner said is like the parking area of the airport. Wagner said construction on that project should start later in the summer.

Wagner said the state funding the airport has received for projects is a huge benefit since it does not have to reach out to find other dollars from the federal government. Wagner said in recent years, he has worked with the Kansas Association of Airports to open up more funding from the state. Last year, those state funds tripled, Wagner said, which has been crucial to help countless projects, including Lawrence’s.

“It’s great news for our airport,” Wagner said.