Everybody knows by now that the Power and Light District is a perennial all-star when it comes to watching big sporting events. Of course the World Cup will be shown there.
And nearly every soccer fan knows about the official FIFA Fan Fest, an 18-day tournament celebration and watch party against the backdrop of the World War I Museum and Memorial. See you there.
But wait a minute—watch party celebrations are literally everywhere around the metro area on both sides of the state line.
The Berkley Riverfront gets in on the action with watch parties planned at The Current Landing, now with access via the just-opened streetcar extension.
On the other side of the river are seven northland community watch parties. Some will be hosted at local high schools and parks while others will be held in sporting complexes or shopping districts, such as Zona Rosa. For more information visit, gonorthkc.com.
Out west, Sporting KC is hosting a series of watch parties at Sporting Park in Legends. They also have a network of watch party pubs throughout the metro at places such as The Other Place in Olathe, The Brooksider in Brookside, Dos Lokos Sports Cantina in Westport, Meat Mitch in Leawood and Chicken N Pickle locations. Check out sportingkc.com for more information.
Over east, downtown Lee’s Summit will have watch parties as part of its Futbol Fridays summer series of activities. For more information, visit lsgoal26.org.
More? Sure.
There is a free watch party in Shawnee Mission Park, where the theater will have a 20-foot-by-30-foot LED screen, live entertainment, and food trucks and vendors for every match. The Prairie Village Shopping Center is having a series of pre-match celebrations.
Then there is the city of Lenexa seemingly pulling out all the stops for three watch parties organizers have been planning for nearly two years in the 200-acre downtown city center area.
The watch parties are part of Pitch Lenexa, an initiative organized by a coalition of eight Lenexa-based companies. “We want to leverage the World Cup opportunity for people who are going to be traveling into Kansas City to showcase what Lenexa has to offer and make those connections for longer than just the World Cup but for years to come,” says Mike Nolan, Lenexa assistant city manager. “It’s important for us to capitalize on the World Cup.”
The Lenexa watch parties will include kid and adult activity zones, including a human foosball event, Nolan says. “It’s a giant inflatable where everybody stands like a soccer player who gets to kick a soccer ball in between each other to score goals. We’re also hoping to engage some local soccer clubs to provide some surprise-and-delight type stuff.”
Every watch party venue around the metro promises the same formula: giant screens, food and drinks, entertainment and the kind of soccer excitement that turns strangers into teammates for 90 minutes. For any watch parties, there are strict FIFA rules to follow about signage and merchandise.
“With us being in the Midwest, being nice to everybody and being uniquely Kansas City, we want to create an experience where everybody can feel like they are sharing in the moment,” Nolan says. “That is what everybody else on all sides of the metro are doing. We are all just creating a space for people to gather. We’re really lacking that nationally right now, and I think that the World Cup can be helpful in bringing people, especially Americans, to not only do good in this World Cup but to have that sense of shared camaraderie.”
