Missouri lawmakers are getting ready to welcome hundreds of thousands of soccer fans as Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium will be one of the 16 host stadiums for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. A key priority for Gov. Mike Kehoe is to help the Show-Me State prepare to be on the world’s stage.

Missouri Budget Director Dan Haug said that Missouri will use $40.5 million to put on the soccer spectacle.

“This breaks down roughly into about $20 million for security, for both state and local security,” he said. “About $17 million for the organizers for all the things that have to go into it – the transportation, all that other kind of stuff. Then, about $3 million for tourism to advertise.”

Haug broke down the numbers of what the state is looking to designate in the upcoming budget to help Kansas City “put its best foot forward.” Part of that money is for tourism-related purposes.

“Both for people to come into the World Cup but also for people who come to the World Cup to maybe go see other parts of Missouri and the great things we have in the rest of the state or to get them to come back,” said Haug. “You know, we have a real opportunity there with all these people coming to the state.”

Additionally, part of that money will go toward public transportation.

“During that couple of months, we’re going to run Amtrak three times a day instead of twice a day because it’s our understanding that people may be staying sort of out state, even, to go to these games and that kind of thing,” explained Haug. “So, we feel like another transportation option helps.”

The Missouri River Runner Amtrak route runs from St. Louis to Kansas City. It also connects to a train line which travels between Chicago and San Antonio with some trips extending to Los Angeles.

Six matches, including a World Cup quarterfinal, will be held at the home of the Chiefs.

Click here to listen to the full interview.

© 2025, Missourinet.

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