If there is one thing that the 2026 World Cup has shown this country—and the world—it’s that Kansas City is a major sports paradise.
We’re sneakily becoming one of the Midwest’s biggest destinations for youth, amateur and collegiate sports, with cities across the metro investing heavily in facilities designed to attract tournaments to the area.
KC’s amateur sports legacy is undeniably led by the annual NAIA basketball tournament, where 16 teams play in a 15-game single-elimination competition. Soccer is another cornerstone: The 16 Heartland Soccer tournaments are held throughout the year at both the massive 12-field Scheels Soccer Complex (13700 Switzer Road, Overland Park) and the Garmin Soccer Complex (10541 S. Warwick St., Olathe), bringing together state and regional champion teams from across the country.
There are dozens of other emerging amateur sports that KC leaders are eyeing, from pickleball and cricket to drone racing, padel (a blend of tennis and squash) and disc golf.
“Kansas City has already proven it can compete with any destination in the country,” John David, president and CEO of Sports Events and Tourism Association, says. “The next opportunity is to continue growing its pipeline of recurring amateur and collegiate events. Cities like Kansas City understand that sports events tourism is not simply about events. It is about economic development, community development and destination branding.”
When it comes to hosting tournaments for amateur teams from a multitude of sports in the greater metro area, Overland Park is ahead of the curve.
The Scheels Soccer Complex was built in 2009 in response to the enormous uptick in soccer play that steadily grew after the 1994 World Cup soccer tournament, says Warren Wilkinson, president and CEO of Visit Overland Park. “All 12 fields there can host collegiate level soccer, and that drives a lot of visitors because we host a lot of tournaments there.”
OP has also hosted the Top Gun Invitational for 14 years in a row, one of the largest girls’ fastpitch softball tournaments in the country. It’s held primarily in the Blue Valley Rec Sports Complex (9701 W. 137th St., Overland Park), which hosts other tournaments each year, bringing in an estimated $12 million in economic development. “We had nearly 400 teams from across the United States here, with 43 states represented,” Wilkinson says.
That tournament was so impactful that hotels were booked all the way to KCK, he says. “We have 4,900 rooms in Overland Park,” Wilkinson says. “We filled those up and we filled up rooms across the metro area for that invitational.”
The city is also attracting newer events, including the Monster Games fitness competition.
Last summer, Visit Overland Park announced a five-year deal with Association of Pickleball Players for a major national tournament at the city’s AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk (16201 Shawnee Drive, Overland Park)—a 420,000-square-foot indoor sports and entertainment complex that houses an NHL-regulation ice rink, eight convertible basketball courts and a 40,000-square-foot turf soccer field. “That facility is going to be a real economic generator for Overland Park,” Wilkinson says. The tournament is expected to draw more than 1,000 athletes.
Wilkinson says Overland Park also landed the Kansas state wrestling championships and will host state volleyball this fall, with hopes of adding lacrosse tournaments in the future.
Ashley Sherard, CEO and economic development director for the Lenexa Chamber of Commerce, says that Lenexa recognizes how non-professional sports are “one of our most important tourism pillars and a key draw for our community.”
Lenexa’s sports assets range from the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatic Center (17251 W. 87th St., Lenexa) to All American Indoor Sports facilities to Black Hoof Park (9053 Monticello Road, Lenexa), which has championship disc golf course. The city is also building a Ninja Warrior-style course at AdventHealth Central Green and Fitness Park that could eventually host competitions.
Even though direct economic benefit is hard to quantify, Sherard says, Lenexa’s Hyatt Place Hotel and Conference Center reports that 10 to 15 percent of their total business each year is tied to youth sports tourism.
Beth Ansell, executive director of Visit Shawnee, says that the city partners with neighboring cities to market the Mid-America Sports Complex and Mid-America West Sports Complex (20000 Johnson Drive, Shawnee), which together offer 36 baseball and softball fields. Nearby attractions like the Kansas City Ice Center and Shawnee Mission Beach Volleyball further expand the city’s tournament offerings.
This sports momentum extends well beyond Johnson County. Homefield Kansas City (9250 State Ave., KCK) has already hosted national basketball tournaments, while View High Sports and Entertainment (3350 N.W. Ashurst Drive, Lee’s Summit) is pacing to be one of Missouri’s largest indoor youth sports venues.
Hosting youth sports tournaments not only fills holes in the calendar but is also good for the local economy, says Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of U.S. Travel Association. “It really helps the hotel industry here in town, and it helps the restaurant industry.”
Kathy Nelson, president and CEO of Visit KC and the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation who was instrumental in bringing the 2026 World Cup to the city, says that the industry of youth sports is resilient. “During the pandemic, it didn’t waiver,” she says. “People still went to their kids’ tournaments, they still drove to Kansas City to see them compete, they still drove from Kansas City to Tulsa or St. Louis. In Kansas City, we’re working really hard behind the scenes to attract more and more of those events.”
