KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis covers Kansas City, Missouri, including neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. She also focuses on issues regarding scams. Share your story idea with Megan.
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Residents living near Kansas City Stadium (GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium) must show a free, temporary parking permit to access their neighborhood on FIFA World Cup match days, but some neighbors say they didn't know about the requirement until recently.
KC2026 announced at the end of May that residents on specific blocks of Blue Ridge Cutoff, across from the stadium, would need a free, temporary parking permit to park in their own driveways. The neighborhood will be blocked off four hours before the start of a match and four hours after.
Tim Rasmussen, who lives in the affected neighborhood, said getting his permit was straightforward.
"It was very easy. Just went in there, gave them our information, and we were in and out within three to four minutes," Rasumssen said. "...It wasn't busy at all. Got this permit, and we are ready to go."
But Rasmussen said the lack of a crowd at the permit pickup location concerned him. He worries his neighbors may not have gotten theirs.
"Otherwise, they will have trouble getting in and out [of] the neighborhood," Rasmussen said.
Neighbor Dana Diaz told KSHB 41's Megan Abundis that she is still in the process of applying for her family's permits.
"Honestly, my family did not know we had to do that until a neighbor came here, knocked on the door and told us two days ago," Diaz said.
Diaz said the timing of the neighborhood blockades poses a challenge for working residents, since most matches start in the evening.
"I think it's very hard for the people who have to go to work," Diaz said. "It's just a lot more harder for people to live here."
Rizaldy Flores, who has lived in the neighborhood for decades, is not worried. He compared the FIFA matches to Chiefs games, which he said have never caused him problems. Flores obtained eight parking permits for his family.
"You never know, and they want to come here for a little party," Flores said.
With nearly 100 homes in the area, there are many with multiple cars in the driveways.
Dianne Azaar is turning the situation into an opportunity. She has 66 paid reservations for her driveway through the PRKD app and was able to secure all of her permits after working with KC2026 and the PRKD app founder.
PRKD's Zack Saadioui said the platform's data shows strong demand near the stadium. There are 31 active, verified hosts near the stadium, with a combined 291 parking spaces.
So far, 144 bookings have been scheduled, with an average price of $50 per day. The listings carry a perfect 5.0 average rating across the market.
Saadioui described PRKD as the Airbnb of parking. The company does not own any spaces and is not affiliated with FIFA, NFL, teams or stadiums. Instead, it facilitates vetted transactions between private property owners and people who need to park, often for large events.
Azaar said it has been fun meeting people from all over the world and gave a particular shout-out to Argentina fans for being easy to work with.
KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis reached out to KC2026 for the total number of permits issued and information on any additional public pickup days. However, she did not receive 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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