How Kansas City became a surprise World Cup hotspot

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, May 11 : In its storied history, Kansas City has attracted traders and mobsters, jazz legends and barbecue pitmasters, and even Taylor Swift. Now it is preparing to welcome some of the world's best soccer players - and their devoted followers.

Kansas City is the smallest of the 11 U.S. host cities for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19. Yet three of the top seeds - Argentina, England and the Netherlands - have chosen it as their base.

That means this Midwestern city will transform into the temporary home of cash-flush soccer players, their legions of fans, and what British tabloids refer to as "WAGs" - their designer fashion-clad wives and girlfriends, who may be struck by the contrast with their lodging at the last tournament in Qatar: a cruise ship.

In 1994, the last time the World Cup was held in the United States, Kansas City fell short in its bid to host. In the decades since, soccer has flourished here, and the city now boasts several world-class training facilities. Its central location also makes it a natural choice for teams wanting to limit travel times to matches in other cities.

KC, as it's known here, sits at the confluence of two rivers and straddles two states, Missouri and Kansas. The Missouri side is more famous and populous, and will host six World Cup games, including a quarter-final, at Arrowhead Stadium, home to the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. Argentina, the reigning World Cup champions, will train on the quieter Kansas side and the English team will stay in a hotel nearby.

While the area may lack the nightlife of New York City, the food scene of Los Angeles or the beaches of Miami, locals expect that visitors will be pleasantly