KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Organizers behind the FIFA World Cup 2026 are starting to narrow in on the details of next year's tournament now that we're less than a year away.
Last June, FIFA announced a preliminary list of base camp locations that would serve as home for participating teams in the 2026 World Cup.
LINK | Complete FIFA 2026 World Cup coverage from KSHB 41 News
As part of that announcement, the Kansas City area was tentatively identified as providing three base camp locations: Sporting KC/Compass Minerals National Performance Center in Kansas City, Kansas, the Kansas City Current’s training facility in Riverside and the University of Kansas Soccer Complex in Lawrence.
In last June’s announcement, each location was partnered with a hotel that would be where team officials would stay. The initial list of partner hotels included Hotel Kansas City - The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel at the Convention Center and the Stonehill Lawrence, Trademark Collection by Wyndham.
Earlier this week, officials in Overland Park said they received word from FIFA organizers that they were no longer considering the Sheraton as a base camp hotel.
An Overland Park spokesperson confirmed to KSHB 41 that FIFA is no longer considering the hotel “due to the large size of the property.”
“We will continue to work with FIFA to host any of the many other groups they’ll be bringing to the metropolitan area for the World Cup,” the spokesperson said.
Earlier this week, KSHB 41 marked the one-year-out milestone with a special, Welcoming the World. You can watch the special in the video player below.
