{"id":16393,"date":"2026-05-26T21:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T21:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/16393\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T21:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T21:53:09","slug":"world-cup-preps-underway-in-northland-as-netherlands-gears-up-for-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/16393\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup preps underway in Northland as Netherlands gears up for training"},"content":{"rendered":"

KSHB 41 News reporter Lauren Schwentker covers stories in the Northland, including in Clay and Platte counties. Have a story idea? Send her an email<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

We are three weeks out from the FIFA World Cup 2026, and preparations are already underway in the Northland. <\/p>\n

The Netherlands national team will practice at the KC Current practice facility in Riverside.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

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KC current faclity gets ready for Netherlands<\/p>\n

Dani Welniak, executive director of communications for the KC Current, said the hosting opportunity carries significance beyond the tournament itself.<\/p>\n

“Not only is it an opportunity to welcome one of the top men’s national teams into KC, but it’s also a chance to be able to showcase our women’s facility is world-class,” Welniak said.<\/p>\n

From setting up security gates to spray painting soccer balls, the facility is being readied for the team’s arrival. <\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

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KC current faclity gets ready for Netherlands<\/p>\n

Welniak said the venue’s reputation played a role in attracting the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

“The world-class facility was enticing from success to a professional athletic environment, and they are very eager to support women’s sports,” Welniak said.<\/p>\n

Enhanced security measures will be in place at the site. Riverside Police Department said its team will escort players to and from games.<\/p>\n

On the roads, the Missouri Department of Transportation has placed orange construction cones on highways ahead of the Orange team’s arrival. <\/p>\n

I-29 in the Northland has been repaved, and District Engineer Greg Boland anticipates crews will re-stripe the interstate before the first fans arrive.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

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KC current faclity gets ready for Netherlands<\/p>\n

MoDOT also plans to open more lanes of I-70 around downtown Kansas City, Missouri.<\/p>\n

Boland said the priority has been clearing as much construction as possible before the tournament begins.<\/p>\n

“I guess the main priority is trying to have as much work done as possible prior to World Cup, so that we have as many lanes open as possible,” Boland said.<\/p>\n

Even with the improvements, Boland said traffic will be heavy on game days and urged drivers to plan ahead with an alternate route.<\/p>\n

“Travelers from outside the area are going to go wherever the main routes direct them to go,” Boland said.<\/p>\n

Welniak said Kansas City is ready to roll out the welcome mat for the visiting team and its fans.<\/p>\n

“Welcome orange! It’s going to be an absolute blast, and I can’t wait to see them take over KC.”<\/p>\n

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"\u201cLauren\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KSHB 41 News reporter Lauren Schwentker covers stories in the Northland, including in Clay and Platte counties. Have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13157,4572,13158,4573,13159,6,4574,4575,631,13160],"class_list":["post-16393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-netherlands","tag-dani-welniak","tag-kansas-city-news","tag-kc-current-practice-facility","tag-lauren-schwentker","tag-modot","tag-netherlands","tag-northland","tag-platte-county","tag-world-cup","tag-world-cup-preparations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}