photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Kiera Chereé Cobb, a consultant with Actuate Consulting Team, speaking to several dozen people in the Lawrence business community during the “Ready, Set, Score!” event Monday morning held by the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce at the Oread Hotel, 1200 Oread Ave. Speakers presented on a variety of topics on how Lawrence businesses should prepare for the FIFA 2026 World Cup tournament, with Chereé Cobb saying that people should "think higher" on how to capitalize on the expected surge in visitors to the region.

When the 2026 FIFA World Cup comes to Kansas City this summer, expect lots of tourists from South America, Algerians from outside of Algeria, and a ton of younger people looking for fun things to do.

That’s what several dozen members of Lawrence’s business community heard on Monday at the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce’s “Ready, Set, Score!” World Cup preparation event. This was the third planning and guidance meeting for business leaders in Lawrence, and featured a lot of stats and information about expected visitor demographics, transportation, events and more.

Steve Kelly, the vice president of economic development for the Chamber, said it was clear this summer would not be like any other summer. FIFA estimates the tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19, will bring more than 600,000 visitors to the region and have an estimated economic impact of over $600 million.

Kiera Chereé Cobb, a consultant with Actuate Consulting Team, told the attendees that businesses should “think higher” about what the tournament will be like in the community.

“Don’t sleep on this,” Chereé Cobb said. “It’s going to feel different.”

Here were some of the key updates about what impacts people and businesses in Lawrence might see during the World Cup.

EXPECT INTERNATIONAL FANS, ESPECIALLY SOUTH AMERICANS

Kansas City will host four group stage matches featuring seven teams from four continents, and four teams chose to have their base camp in the Kansas City area — England, Argentina, the Netherlands and Algeria, the latter of which selected Lawrence as its host city. That means a lot of foreign visitors will be coming to the region.

Chereé Cobb said that while bookings have increased to Kansas City International Airport from multiple continents, including Europe and Asia, there has been a more than 3,000% increase in bookings from South America. That is no surprise when reigning World Cup champion Argentina, which has one of the biggest global fan bases, will play at least one match in Kansas City — against Algeria on June 16. Ecuador, another South American country, will also play in Kansas City on June 20 against Curaçao.

Although many businesses are preparing to handle international guests, Chereé Cobb noted that they won’t be the only visitors to the region. FIFA’s data suggests that around 54% of the visitors to Kansas City will be from outside the U.S., and the remainder will be domestic visitors, whether they’re fans of the specific teams or just soccer fans in general looking for the closest host city to watch from.

Chereé Cobb said the data suggests that many of the visitors will be younger people; 32% would be between the ages of 16 and 29, while 46% would be between 30 to 49, meaning they’ll be looking for “something to do” in between matches. She also said around 63% of World Cup visitors would be male.

For international visitors, the average stay in the host nation is around 9.7 days, and that is part of why Lawrence businesses and organizations are looking to host special events or watch parties throughout the tournament.

Ruth DeWitt, the director of community relations for Explore Lawrence, said her organization is planning watch parties for the Algerian matches and at least one match for the United States men’s national team. Other local businesses and organizations are also planning to host special events, including Haskell Indian Nations University and the Lawrence Public Library.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Ruth DeWitt, the director of community relations for Explore Lawrence, sharing some of the planned events that will be held by her organization during the FIFA 2026 World Cup. Those events include public watch parties for Algeria’s matches, who chose Lawrence as a base camp, and at least one United States national team match.

ALGERIANS MAY COME FROM ALL OVER

It might be more difficult for Algerians to make the visit to the United States this summer than for supporters of some other countries’ teams.

DeWitt said that she heard from an Algerian reporter now based in America that the USA consulate in Algeria was “refusing lots of visas” for travel during the summer. Part of that is due to a visa bond program announced in August 2025 by the U.S. State Department, which requires residents of 50 countries to provide a $10,000 bond to obtain a visa. Other countries on that list that will play in the World Cup include Cape Verde, the Ivory Coast, Senegal and Tunisia.

DeWitt said the bond is a “very steep obstacle” for potential visitors from Algeria, a country of more than 48 million people. But DeWitt said this news will “not be a bust for Lawrence.”

That’s because Algeria has a large diaspora community in European countries like France and Italy whose residents would be able to visit without those restrictions, DeWitt said. Canada has Algerian communities in Montreal and Quebec, and the United States itself has established communities of Algerian immigrants in Chicago and New York, among other cities.

Because of this, DeWitt said Explore Lawrence has done a “pretty aggressive” marketing campaign in some of those cities, placing ads to target people who have searched for World Cup tickets, Algeria or live sports.

No matter where the visitors come from, DeWitt said Lawrence’s status as a base camp could mean as many as 15,000 more people in town over the course of the tournament. She wants to ensure that visitors “feel welcome” and make it so they “love Lawrence.”

RAMPING UP TRANSPORTATION PLANS

Officials celebrated that Lawrence is literally “on the map” for a regional transportation plan put together by FIFA, and Lawrence Transit’s director wants to improve connections within Lawrence as well.

The Kansas City organizing committee announced in December that Lawrence was one of 15 sites that would have a daily, direct bus connection to downtown Kansas City, with the pickup point being Central Station, 2315 Bob Billings Parkway.

photo by: Contributed via KC26

A map of the regional transportation network created by KC26 that aims to connect visitors and locals to the wider region. The plan includes daily buses that connect 15 sites throughout the region to Kansas City’s city center, including Lawrence.

Felice Lavergne, the director of Lawrence Transit, said the city planned to provide extra transit service between Central Station and downtown Lawrence’s transit hub on days when matches take place in Kansas City. That means there will be additional service on June 16, June 20, June 25, June 27, July 3 and July 11.

Part of that will include expanding hours of at least one route on those match days. Most of the matches will kick off in the evenings, and Lawrence Transit’s service normally ends at 8 p.m. Lavergne said that route 4 will run from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. on match nights as one way to help improve the connection.

Lavergne also said she is hoping to add more amenities at transit hubs, like having food trucks at Central Station on certain days.

Lavergne also encouraged visitors and locals interested in going to Kansas City during the World Cup to download the city’s transit app. She said the app would soon allow users to look at bus schedules operating in Kansas City during the World Cup, which can make it easier to “plan trips seamlessly,” and that her department was “on the verge of providing new information.”

Overall, Lawrence Transit is working to ensure it “can get people where they want to go” throughout the tournament, she said.