A new group comprised of businesses and organizations in Lenexa hopes to capitalize on the FIFA World Cup coming to Kansas City in 2026.
Pitch Lenexa intends to show off Lenexa to tourists during the World Cup with a series of inclusive community events and activities at venues around the city, including Lenexa City Center.
Its ultimate plans go beyond that event, said Mark McFarland, organizer of the group.
“The goal of the group is to have a big celebration for the World Cup. But that’s just an interim goal,” he said. “Ultimately, the idea is for the group to stay together and help get Lenexa involved intimately with lots of these types of events that come to the Kansas City metropolitan area.”
Businesses and organizations involved with the group include Hinkle Law Firm LLC, AdventHealth Lenexa City Center and Quest Diagnostics, among others.
The World Cup comes to Kansas City in 2026
Kansas City will host six group stage matches including a quarterfinal game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in summer 2026. It is one of 16 cities in the U.S. to host the competition.
The World Cup is expected to generate about $652 million for the Kansas City area, according to Katherine Holland, the executive director of KC2026, a nonprofit organization responsible for strategizing and fulfilling contractual obligations for FIFA World Cup 26.
Leading up to and during the games, Lenexa is expecting a large influx of tourists, said Mayor Julie Sayers.
“It’s a gargantuan effort to plan the base camp events and all of the things that are going to be happening at Arrowhead and in Lawrence,” she said. “We kind of just want to be on the border of all of that, so that we can take care of the hundreds of thousands of people that are going to be here.”
Pitch Lenexa wants to give people options
Because the games are expected to be one of the hottest tickets for 2026, Pitch Lenexa is brainstorming ideas, like watch parties and events, for people who won’t be able to make it to the stadium or don’t want to brave heavy traffic and huge crowds.
Thinking back to the traffic jams and wall-to-wall crowds when Kansas City hosted the NFL Draft in 2023, McFarland said he expects even more jam-packed crowds for the World Cup and wants to give people options to avoid it.
“The NFL Draft, that was great. But it was hard to get in there. Once you got there, it was great, but it was difficult,” he said. “If we can bring that experience to Lenexa, then people who can’t get down there or decide that they don’t want to fight the crowd, they’ll have the ability to experience a portion of that right here.”
Businesses, representatives are excited
By the time the World Cup comes to Kansas City, AdventHealth will have completed work on the first phase of its AdventHealth Life Campus, which includes a 100-bed hospital and a three-story medical office building, in Lenexa City Center.
As a member of Pitch Lenexa, the healthcare system is excited to be a part of the group and help promote what the city has to offer.
“Lenexa is a growing community,” said Kylee Taylor, senior communications and marketing specialist for AdventHealth. “It just keeps on growing, and we’re so excited to have people come and see our community, feel how welcoming we are there, and see all of the growing businesses and organizations we have.”
With so many Lenexa businesses on board and excited to get going, Mayor Sayers said it makes it easier to plan events as the games get closer.
“The idea is that we just want to be ready for however we can start, to activate and welcome people to Lenexa,” she said. “We just kind of want to have the support and funding in place so that once we have our marching orders and what we can do, we’re ready to ready to get planning.”
What’s next?
While Pitch Lenexa’s board has had brainstorming discussions on potential events, how those ideas will be pulled off remains to be seen, McFarland said.
“We’ve had some 30,000-foot-view types of discussions about what the concept would look like here in Lenexa City Center, or maybe in other places,” he said. “So I think right now, the focus is on getting that concept more focused, and then start putting the pieces together.”
Even after the games are over, the hopes are the group will continue on and use their efforts for the World Cup as a template for future events, McFarland said.
“I think it’s always it’s good to know that you’re in a community where businesses like to come together and work together for a common interest,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it beyond 2026 and other events that come to the area.”
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