Lawrence is well positioned to cash in on an estimated regional windfall of more than $600 million next summer when the World Cup comes to Kansas City, said Pam Kramer, the CEO of KC’s World Cup planning, at the 2025 Lawrence Business Magazine Foundation Awards on Tuesday.
Kramer said Lawrence is one of the most engaged communities KC2026 has worked with as the organization plans for the massive sporting event.
Lawrence has “good odds” of being chosen as a base camp, Kramer said. She said the current base camp catalog has 50 sites — including Rock Chalk Park — and there will be 48 teams competing in the World Cup.
Local officials have already begun preparations for Lawrence to take advantage of and prepare for the World Cup, but that impact could jump exponentially if Lawrence is selected as a team base camp, which would mean hosting a national team for a portion of the event.
Kramer said teams have already visited local base camp possibilities like Rock Chalk Park and love the central location and oasis from coastal media mobs. Kansas City is the smallest host city for the World Cup, but Kramer said its central geographic location has already paid dividends, with the city chosen to host a coveted quarterfinal match.
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Kramer said KC2026 wants to spread the impact of the event across the region. Each host city holds a massive FIFA Fan Fest that can draw tens of thousands of visitors. But Kramer said they are planning to limit the capacity of KC’s festival and instead encourage fans to travel throughout the region to places like Lawrence.
Unlike other major regional sporting events the area has hosted, like the 2023 NFL Draft, the World Cup will last nearly a month from start to finish in KC, meaning the potential economic and cultural impact will linger.
She said KC2026 is already working to partner with local businesses. Kramer said there will be adjustments needed to best prepare for incoming international fans because some use different payment methods or don’t speak English.
The last time the United States hosted the World Cup was in 1994, the year that still holds the records for most ticket sales.
“There’s something that happens when you take the world’s largest sporting event and you lay on top of it the United States and our appeal as a tourist destination,” Kramer said.
Kramer said she hoped the impacts of hosting the World Cup will be lasting, and investments made in preparation can continue to serve local communities in the future.
“We’re also focused on, after the World Cup is gone, what’s left?” she said. “What is the impact, long term, to the people here?”
Kramer was the keynote speaker for the 2025 Lawrence Business Magazine Foundation Awards, which recognized dozens of local businesses with awards.
Alpha Roofing won the foundation’s Footprint Impact Award, for a local business making an impact in the community.
Sound Speech Therapy won the women-owned business award, and Bridge Haven won the minority-owned business award.
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Post updated to add more photos at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22
Cuyler Dunn (he/him), a contributor to The Lawrence Times since April 2022, is a student at the University of Kansas School of Journalism. He is a graduate of Lawrence High School where he was the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, The Budget, and was named the 2022 Kansas High School Journalist of the Year. Read his complete bio here. Read more of his work for the Times here.
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