KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City’s third FIFA 2026 World Cup match on Thursday will once again offer an opportunity for the city to shine to a global audience.
But it will also be an all-day test as the Netherlands squares off against Tunisia in their third and final group stage match starting at 6 p.m. at Kansas City Stadium.
“Tomorrow is going to be one of the biggest days of the tournament for us,” KC2026 CEO Pam Kramer said during a press conference Wednesday with reporters.
That test will start early, as thousands of orange-clad Dutch fans arrive around 9 a.m. at the Power and Light District in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, for the Orange Walk. Starting around 11 a.m., those fans will march south down Grand Boulevard through the Crossroads Arts District and Crown Center before arriving at FIFA Fan Fest Kansas City at the National World War I Museum and Memorial.
KC2026 officials are planning for many of those marching fans to want to go to Fan Fest. While Fan Fest is slated to open at 1 p.m. Thursday, officials said Wednesday they are working on the possibility of opening early to accommodate fans arriving from the March.
They are also working on ways to quickly allow those fans to enter Fan Fest while maintaining screening and security measures.
Transportation updates for fans attending the match
Following Kansas City’s opening match between Argentina and Algeria on a weekday night, KC2026 officials brainstormed ways to improve the transportation experience alongside FIFA and stadium officials.
Kramer said those improvements helped KC2026 Stadium Direct Service — a bus network connecting several park-and-ride locations across the area and Fan Fest — transported 21,500 fans to the stadium for last Saturday’s game between Ecuador and Curacao. That was roughly 2,000 more than in the first match.
On Thursday, they will get to see if those changes hold up during another weekday match.
LINK | KC2026 World Cup transportation information
Organizers expect a heavy volume of fans wanting to get from Fan Fest to the stadium, so they are taking buses that had been serving some of the lower-volume Region Direct routes from Independence Square, KC Zoo/Starlight Theatre, Worlds of Fun and 3 Trails Transit Center and redeploying them to serve fans getting between Fan Fest and the Stadium. The switch should add about 1,000 people per hour of capacity.
Kramer said KC2026 officials are working with large employers in downtown to see if their employees can either avoid Interstate 70 or vary the time of their trip home during Thursday night’s rush hour in an attempt to get at least some traffic off the highway.
“Part of doing big things is that there are going to be moments where we have more cars and more buses on the road,” Kramer said.
Kramer reiterated the importance of ride-share drivers and passengers not to end their rides before being dropped off at Lot O. Vehicle parking passes through FIFA are also available for fans wanting to drive to the match.
If you do drive, Kramer suggests checking Google Maps and Waze for real-time traffic updates.
Safety and security for the Netherlands Orange Walk
You have seen the videos of throngs of Dutch fans packing streets in Dallas and Houston so far this World Cup as they geared up for World Cup matches there.
Kansas City Police Department Major Amy Martinez told reporters Wednesday that KCPD has been coordinating with police in Dallas and Houston on what to expect with the famous Dutch event.
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Martinez says officers are prepared to close down Grand Boulevard and other streets in the area once the march gets underway. It is a route that KCPD is familiar with, as it is largely the same route taken three times for Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebrations and by the Kansas City Royals’ celebration in 2015.
She said that fans should expect to see KCMO Public Works trucks used to help block streets and guide fans down the route.
If you can’t make it out for the march, you can stream coverage starting at 9:30 a.m. on KSHB.com and the KSHB 41 Streaming Apps.
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