KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Of all places, the American Midwest — and Kansas City in particular — could be considered the heart of the World Cup scene, and not just because of its geographic location right smack in the middle of the United States.

Six games will be played at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, including a match in the round of 32 and a quarterfinal. But there also will be four high-profile clubs based in and around Kansas City: Lionel Messi and Argentina, Harry Kane and England and Virgil van Dijk and the Netherlands in the metropolitan area, with Algeria in nearby Lawrence, home of the University of Kansas.

Oh, and remember: There is a Kansas City, Missouri, and a Kansas City, Kansas, which can be confusing to first-time visitors. Most of the World Cup activities will be taking place on the Missouri side of the state line.

There are plenty of cultural attractions in Kansas City, including the National World War I Memorial and Museum, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the renowned Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the American Jazz Museum and Union Station.

Kansas City is known for its barbecue, particularly burnt ends, which are the trimmed points of a brisket. The real question isn’t what to eat but where, because there are dozens of top BBQ joints. They range from the upscale (Fiorella’s Jack Stack) to the famous (Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que) to the award-winning (Q39) to the legendary (Arthur Bryant’s) and the beloved dives (B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ). For World Cup fans planning stops here, in Texas and in Georgia, a BBQ tour to compare styles is a must.

The free fan festival in Kansas City will be held on the grounds of the World War I memorial. Big screens will show World Cup matches, and live music from the likes of the Chainsmokers, Flo Rida and The All-American Rejects is on the schedule.

Getting around downtown is easy thanks to the Kansas City streetcar. Getting to the games is another issue. Arrowhead Stadium is located about 10 miles east of downtown, and fans typically drive to the stadium. Parking will be severely limited for the World Cup, so more than 200 buses will provide ticketed shuttle services from areas around town.

Arrowhead Stadium has no roof, and summer temperatures can reach triple digits in Kansas City, which is why all the games will be played at night. This is also the heart of tornado alley, so keeping an eye on the weather is imporant. The stadium itself is one of the iconic facilities in the NFL and known for providing the Chiefs a big homefield advantage. It will be replaced by 2031 with a new, $3 billion domed stadium that will be built across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

© Associated Press