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Fans heading to Kansas City Stadium for the World Cup match between Argentina and Algeria relied on shuttle buses and, in some cases, their own two feet to make it to the game Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri.
The stadium direct pickup line at Graceway Church kept growing throughout the day, drawing fans who wanted to avoid the hassle of driving and parking near the stadium.
The park-and-ride option there, which was spearheaded by KC2026, cost $15 per person per match.
Kais Ramdani, an Algerian fan in line to take the shuttle, said the setup worked well for him.
He’s lived in the United States for several years and even spent time living in Missouri.
"It's convenient, very convenient," Ramdani said.
Fellow fan Ale Salinas said the shuttle made sense given the size of the crowds.
She and Ignacio Archidona, who’s from Argentina, drove seven hours from Dallas to be in Kansas City.
"It's easier for someone else to drive than for us to drive with so many people," Salinas said.
For many fans, getting to the shuttle stop itself was already a multi-step process.
Laura Alexander said she and her group drove to a Kansas City Zoo parking area before making their way to Graceway.
"Then we drove from the Zoo parking to Graceway," Alexander said.
Alexander said the shuttle option offered real financial benefits in addition to the convenience.
"Much cheaper, not paying hundreds of dollars for parking, and hopefully we can beat the traffic by being on the shuttle," Alexander said.
Not everyone stuck with the shuttle.
Fan Erica Dyer said she abandoned the line after it barely moved.
"We'd been there for 45 minutes and had only moved probably 25 feet and hadn't seen any other buses," Dyer said.
She chose to walk the roughly 45 minutes to the stadium in the heat rather than wait.
Another fan said the walk still beat standing still.
"A lot shorter than it is waiting up there in line, so at least we're moving," he said.
Dyer said she hoped the transportation system would be better organized for the trip back.
"Hopefully, by the end of the game, they will have figured it out a little bit better and will get us back to our car," Dyer said.
The FIFA World Cup 26 Kansas City X account posted a statement on X that read:
“We are aware of delays affecting some transport services across the network. We are working with our transport partners to restore normal operations as quickly as possible, ensuring the safe passage of all attending fans.”
KSHB 41 reached out to KC2026 for comment but has not yet received a response.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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