World Cup

Kansas City leaders are already talking about holding onto the giant red Heart Gateway even after the Fan Festival closes. But what about the transportation system that connected people to the stadiums and the airport? It's time to start thinking big about the region's future.

The top executives of the Kansas City Chiefs and Sporting KC said local residents and the thousands of domestic and international visitors will remember Kansas City's role in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

EZ Pedicabs will take you from the West Bottoms to 18th and Vine, or from CPKC Stadium to the Plaza — and anywhere in between. Owners want the company's electric trishaws to become an essential part of getting around Kansas City, long after the World Cup.

All 1,100 Kansas City police officers are on duty, there are cops from 11 states helping and KCPD's three helicopters are constantly in the air. The city has been mostly peaceful, with the major exception of a string of shootings along highways before the Argentina-Algeria match. That suspect was found dead by police on Wednesday.

Animatronics are usually found in theme parks, but students in the North Kansas City School District brought them into the classroom this summer to celebrate the World Cup.

Where are the transportation bottlenecks around Kansas City? MARC is studying how the World Cup is affecting travel, with thousands of extra cars on highways, passengers on buses and streetcars, bikes on trails and pedestrians wandering downtown.

Kansas City has welcomed thousands of visitors as the metro enters its second week of the World Cup. But as international crowds come in, many local shop owners feel they're taking a backseat. Some small businesses say the economic boost is not evenly distributed.

Those big orange cans at FIFA Fan Festival? A Kansas City nonprofit put them there to help deal with organic waste from the massive sporting event.

One local artist said the city is celebrating "the idea that an artist, with his family and his friends, got together and created some art to welcome these beautiful people. That's the kind of thing we're missing in the world."

Airbnb partnered with Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw, Kansas City Public Schools and the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City to give 75 tickets for students and their coaches to attend World Cup matches.