Kansas City takes FIFA World Cup inventory. So how many visitors did we welcome?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KC2026 announced more than 400,000 attended Fan Festival from June 11-July 11.
- Arrowhead Stadium hosted six games with an average attendance of 68,862 and total 413,169.
- Officials estimated 650,000 visitors and 2.1 million visitor days in Kansas City.
Just two games remain in the FIFA World Cup: Saturday’s third-place contest between England and France and Sunday’s championship showdown pitting Spain against Argentina.
But it isn’t too early to begin adding up the visitors who attended games and events in Kansas City in June and July, as the city and region played host to six games and four international teams’ base camps.
The KC2026 organizers announced that more than 400,000 attended KC’s 2026 FIFA Fan Festival, which ran for 19 days from June 11-July 11. Capacity was capped at 25,000, and more than 60,000 registered for the final day.
Average attendance for the six games at Kansas City (Arrowhead) Stadium was 68,862. Four were called sellouts at 69.045, and the total count was 413,169.
Before the tournament, officials estimated Kansas City would see 650,000 visitors and 2.1 million “visitor days” in KC during the World Cup. The larger number includes fans attending matches and those without tickets attending other festivities like watch parties.
No figures were immediately available to measure the economic impact of this year’s World Cup run in KC. It had previously been estimated at $653 million.
Kansas City rented more than 200 buses for its transportation system and counted more than 215,000 ConnectKC riders, including 145,000 who used the service to the stadium. Some 45,000 rode the Regional Direct lines to FanFest and 25,000 used the bus for the airport.
The massive event’s volunteer network across Kansas City numbed 3,400, with a show rate — meaning volunteers show up for their unpaid shift — of 90%.
“Years of planning and collaboration made this moment possible,” KC2026 CEO Pam Kramer said in a statement, “but at the heart of it all were the people who opened their arms and hearts to welcome the world to this special place.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Kansas City takes FIFA World Cup inventory. So how many visitors did we welcome?."