KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. Share your story idea with Isabella.
—
Algeria and Austria are set to meet on the pitch at Kansas City Stadium at 9 p.m. on Saturday. It's the city's last group stage match before the Round of 32 on July 3.
Businesses have been trying to lure fans in all summer to get them in the World Cup spirit.
Some neighbors around Arrowhead are turning into entrepreneurs by using their driveways to profit off the matches.
"It's been crazy, a lot of traffic, a lot of people," neighbor Dunia Cardoza said.
Parking for the World Cup is a bit more complicated than for Chiefs games. Fans need a permit or pass to be near the stadium. Some neighbors like Cardoza and KC Lowrey are taking advantage of the opportunity to turn their space into parking lots.
"For the fans, come with a good attitude, and come with plenty of money, obviously," neighbor KC Lowrey said.
Lowrey and Cardoza live about a quarter mile from Arrowhead, off Blue Ridge Cutoff.
"It's only like a 10-minute walk," Cardoza said.
Fans from across the world and the United States have been opting in for neighbor parking to avoid the high parking pass prices and tight traffic control on game day.
"The guests have been amazing," Lowrey said. "It's so fun to host people from other places at fun events because it's almost like you're meeting new relatives coming into town when they're your guests."
Lowrey and her neighbors are charging $50 to park at their house, which is about $100 cheaper than the least expensive option at the stadium for Saturday's game.
"I'm going to try and go to Costco to get some liquid IV because I see people are drinking early in the day, and I'm sitting here going, you just take that and put it in some water," Lowrey laughed. "I have to grand mom."
Another option with a bit less of a walk to the stadium is the Center for Developmentally Disabled. The nonprofit organization sits on 41st Terrace, right off Blue Ridge Cutoff.
"There's been so much stuff going on outside," Executive Director Hilary Muehlberger said. "The Tunisia fans had fireworks, they had flags and were up in the Taco Bell parking lot. The energy is just so high so it makes it a lot of fun for us, too."
Fans make a $60 donation to the center for parking. It goes toward helping more than 450 Kansas Citians with developmental disabilities find jobs, get an education and secure housing.
"It's just so much bigger than anything than we would have anticipated months ago," Muehlberger said.
Muehlberger explained that World Cup parking has already raised $45,000, which is going directly back into the nonprofit's programs.
"It gives me goosebumps every time I think about it," Muehlberger said. "We didn't know if people were even going to be able to get to the parking lot, so seeing that number get a little bit bigger every day and just knowing what it's going to do for our clients, it's just so much more than I could have even hoped for. Truly."
You can reserve parking at the center here. Neighbor parking accepts cash and/or Venmo.
—
