KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
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On Thursday, Lawrence 2026 announced the Algeria men's national team has selected Rock Chalk Park as its base camp for the 2026 World Cup.
BEHIND THE SCENES | Rock Chalk Park
Rock Chalk Park, located in west Lawrence at 6100 Rock Chalk Drive, is home to the University of Kansas' women's soccer and softball teams. The complex houses a soccer pitch, tennis center, ballpark and a track and field stadium.
Algeria, which ranks No. 28 in the FIFA World Ranking, will play two group stage matches at Arrowhead in June.
The team's first match will be against Argentina on June 16, and then the team will face Austria in its third match on June 27. Algeria will face Jordan in the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on June 22.
Multiple teams toured the facility in 2025, according to Jason Booker with KU Athletics.
He said countries seemed interested in Midwest base camp sites due to their centralized location and distance from both coasts.
“Rock Chalk Park is a world-class facility that was validated by the countries that visited and in the level of interest we had in being a base camp," Booker said in part in a press release Thursday. "This summer offers a tremendous opportunity to showcase the broader university, Lawrence, Douglas County and our surrounding region."
In a behind-the-scenes look at Rock Chalk Park in May 2025, KSHB 41 Douglas County reporter Lily O'Shea Becker previewed the possibility of a World Cup team setting up a base camp at the park, which has a laundry room, a medical room, a weight training room and more amenities ready to serve on-the-road teams.
If Algeria opts into having open practice days, Booker said fans could fill the 2,000 seats around the pitch and an additional 4,000 fans could watch from the lawn that surrounds the field.
During KSHB 41 News' tour of of Rock Chalk Park, Booker said the pitch soil was tested and holds up to any English Premier League soccer pitch.
“It feels like we finished a marathon," said Ruth DeWitt with Explore Lawrence. "In a lot of ways, it feels like we’re done and in a lot of ways, we’re only just beginning.”
In addition to DeWitt's work with Lawrence 2026 through Explore Lawrence, she is a Lawrence resident who is looking forward to a summer full of learning and cultural exchange.
“I’m just picturing people everywhere, people getting on our buses, I’m picturing our downtown bustling with people, I’m picturing learning some new language," she said.
Rafael Gonzalez, owner of Global Cafe in downtown Lawrence, shares that excitement. The Spanish-born Lawrence resident says soccer is in his DNA.
“I can’t believe it’s in a few months," Gonzalez said. "I always dreamed, when I was little, of what it would be like to be in the World Cup or go to the World Cup.”
Gonzalez said he didn't have any luck with FIFA's ticket lottery, but that won't stop him from attending a game or at the least, the FIFA Fan Festival in Kansas City.
He is a player with Lawrence's Adult Soccer League, and he said the league is made up of players from around the world, including at least three members from Algeria.
Gonzalez shared that the league wants to welcome Algeria to Lawrence with a party.
“We’re going to see how we can do watch parties and block parties," he said. "We’re planning to host everyone that comes to this town.”
In addition to a team, its entourage and fans, press from around the world will be traveling for the World Cup. Booker said the tennis center at Rock Chalk Park would be able to accommodate press conferences if needed.
Lawrence 2026 said now that a country has selected Rock Chalk Park as its base camp, specific plans need to come together — that includes making linguistic and cultural adjustments around town.
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