We had only been in the Uber for 30 minutes but it felt like we had travelled to another planet.
In the morning, as our pre-World Cup tour of Kansas City kicked off, we had been shown around Swope Park, the suburban training ground where Thomas Tuchel and his Three Lions will plot their path to New York this summer.
Quite quickly, it became clear that the German had gone for pragmatism over palatial. ‘It has everything you need and nothing that you don’t,’ explained Matt Besler, a former Sporting Kansas City and US defender who spent most of his career training here.
That was, to be frank, a bit of an understatement. The venue, originally used by the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs back in the late 1960s, essentially consists of a spartan meeting room, a tiny gym, a changing room and two pitches. On the plane over they were showing Saipan, the film about the infamous feud over training facilities which saw a furious Roy Keane depart Ireland’s 2002 World Cup campaign before it had even begun.
While the two Bermuda-grass surfaces here, flanked by busy East 63rd Street, a zoo with a resident polar bear and a railroad, look immaculate and should not see anyone end up with an injury, this was not Premier League standard.
An FA team will soon land to spruce the place up (including installing a gym in a climate-controlled marquee and screening the facility from the road and prying eyes), but it was difficult not to wonder how some of the world’s best footballers may react to a facility that you would, if you were being kind, describe as ‘intimate’. It is to be hoped that nobody does a Keane. As Matt told us how ‘perfect’ Swope was I felt a snap and found the arm of my swivel chair had fallen off.
England are set to be based at the Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City for the World Cup
The ‘intimate’ facility is perfectly reasonable but it is also not Premier League standard
England will stay at the Inn at Meadowbrook, a boutique hotel in the style of an English country estate
Now, however, it was time for an entirely different ball game. In 2017, local MLS outfit Sporting Kansas City left Swope behind (handing it down to its academy) and moved to the new, $75m (£56.2m), state-of-the-art Compass Minerals Centre.
Thanks to new FIFA rules and the fact they are playing a game here and England are not, Argentina got first dibs. While England had been eyeing Kansas City for 12 months thanks to its central location and had been in ongoing talks with officials, everyone thought the defending champions would be based in Miami, where Lionel Messi is currently plying his trade.
Out of nowhere the South Americans swooped and England got Swoped. The Netherlands, who also have a game here, possessed second choice and opted for the KC Current women’s teams’ $20m (£15m) facility with their pick.
Compass covers all areas. The cavernous gym itself feels bigger than the entire building England will use. There is a smoothie bar, a sleek players’ lounge, two plunge pools and a hydrotherapy chamber. Screens everywhere tell players what is on offer for lunch (lemon oregano grilled chicken, marinated flank steak, roasted zucchini and tomatoes today) while reminding them who has fines to pay.
When the players get their boots wet there are specially-shaped dryers to put them on and ensure their precious tootsies are kept warm. This is the city of barbecue, and global designers Populous, who are based in Kansas City, were asked to ensure it included a smoker.
Nothing has been left to chance. The pitches are secluded, save for the fish in an adjoining lake. It has the feel of an elite facility, rather than the League Two one we had left behind. A ball has not been kicked but it would appear as though Argentina have already scored a major victory.
Yet, for Tuchel it all makes sense according to Alan Dietrich, executive director at SKC and base camp consultant, who sealed the deal to bring the Three Lions base camp here following a keenly-contested Padel match, a trip to Top Golf and dinner at a high-end seafood restaurant.
‘We met Thomas twice and really connected,’ he explains. ‘He loves the location, the fact you can get anywhere and he thinks the training ground is the perfect environment because it’s more compact and it keeps everyone together. We had dinner at Eddy Vs with him and he told myself and Jake Reid (Sporting KC CEO) that the group were going to get tattoos when they won the World Cup, which would have some kind of nod to Kansas City. He said if we were really with them then we would get them too. He looked us in the eye and asked us, so now we’ve both promised to get the same tattoo if England win.’
England will stay at the Inn at Meadowbrook, a boutique hotel in the style of an English country estate. It is safe to say they may enjoy their time there a little more.
No expense has been spared, with the Three Lions taking over the entire 54-bedroom property, which features an impressive American restaurant, firepits and a relaxed vibe. Locals say many of the hotel’s staff have been furloughed for the duration of England’s stay, which has left some disappointed and some, who do not care for soccer, delighted.
The location may come as a surprise. The hotel is in the middle of a public park that was well-populated with dog walkers and people exercising when I visited. It is overlooked on one side by a high-end apartment block and on another, across a lake, by a large, upmarket gated community.
Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and co are going to get a taste of pure Americana, right down to the white picket fences. One might imagine the paparazzi will have a field day from the many vantage points, although England’s players may be the ones celeb-spotting given Travis Kelce, the Chiefs tight end and soon-to-be Mr Taylor Swift, lives in nearby Leawood. The high school of Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis, is around the corner.
Argentina swooped in to take the state-of-the-art Compass Minerals Centre as their base
That facility appears to be more advanced and even possesses a snack and smoothie bar
When the players get their boots wet there are specially-shaped dryers to put them on and ensure their precious tootsies are kept warm
Alan Dietrich, executive director at Sporting Kansas City and base camp consultant, feels England’s base is perfect though, and said ‘it’s more compact and it keeps everyone together’
FA security officials are thought to have asked for a wide-ranging perimeter, but agreed to a smaller cordoned-off area following discussions with local police. It remains to be seen whether they will put screens up, although that would appear a little over the top.
Interestingly, while it is only a 20-minute drive, the hotel is in Kansas City, Kansas, while the training ground is in Kansas City, Missouri. The state line itself throws up some interesting differences.
Recreational marijuana usage, for example, is legal in Missouri, but not in Kansas, so any joints will have to be stubbed out before they get on the coach to go back – although if Tuchel and his troops want to buy hard liquor in a grocery store then they will need to do that in Kansas, and not Missouri.
On the subject of booze, the Missouri side of the border is set to extend its licensing laws to 23-hours for the tournament, meaning 5am to 6am would be the only time you would not be able to get a drink. Given the difference in quality between the hotel and training ground, Tuchel and his squad will no doubt be clear on when they are not in Kansas anymore.
Dismiss the divide at your peril. In the American Civil War, this was often an ongoing, bloody battlefield, with Kansas a ‘free state’ and Missouri seen as a slave state. Indeed, in 1863 the nearby Lawrence Massacre saw a brutal attack by Confederate guerillas which ended with around 200 men and boys slain. Even now, some 160 years on, the Border War rivalry between the Universities of Kansas and Missouri remains strong, with Kansas named the Jayhawks, after their own Civil War forces.
Other battles have also been fought here. In 1920, the Negro Major Leagues were launched in Kansas City in response to baseball’s ‘color line’ which excluded African Americans from playing in the majors.
The area is known for its pioneering spirit, which can also be found at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Chiefs, whose founder Lamar Hunt responded to being turned down for a National Football League expansion franchise by setting up the American Football League with a group of fellow spurned businessmen in 1959 at the age of just 29.
The American Airlines piece of paper, on which he scrawled his plans for his new competition in frustration on the flight home, features in the Chiefs’ impressive museum. By 1966, with the new league a hit, a merger was agreed and the first Super Bowl, a term created by Hunt, was played and featured his side.
Iconic Arrowhead, which retains the look and feel of a venue built in 1972, is the proud holder of the Guinness World Record for noisiest stadium and it will be a sad day when it is levelled following the 2030 season and the Chiefs move to a new dome across the border in Kansas.
On the subject of upgrades, the city itself is busy putting its best face on. Tidy up work is noticeable across town, with roads tarmacked and pavement cracks being smoothed over, while the airport is plastered in World Cup branding.
Unlike some of their bigger fellow hosts, such as New York and Boston, free transport is being offered from downtown to the airport while a shuttle bus to-and-from the stadium will cost $15 (£11.23). It feels like the city is embracing the opportunity and wants to embrace visitors, something reinforced over at city hall, where mayor Quinton Lucas has a Messi shirt folded over a chair in his office.
The likeable 41-year-old explains that $200m (£150m) has been spent on infrastructure, which includes a free-to-enter fan zone designed by KC-based Populous, the stadium architects whose impressive portfolio includes Tottenham’s home (and Compass Minerals).
The festival, set at the city’s impressive World War I museum, will also include an area specially created for those with dogs. While there is little they can do about FIFA’s notorious pricing, they are clearly trying to do their best to ensure as many people as possible get a taste of the World Cup experience.
Six games will be played at the iconic Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City during the World Cup
Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas is focused on welcoming fans for a great experience
Kansas City is known for its hospitality and supporters are likely to receive a warm welcome
Lucas, a straight talker, has no issues in addressing the city’s homicide record. So far this year there have been 59, which include a woman who was shot to death just a mile away from England’s training ground in March. It is, at least, down on 2023, when a record 185 were registered.
Much of the additional funding will be spent on security. ‘In terms of those coming to the United States and not getting shot, this is where I will get in trouble but as a you might expect from a Democrat, I find our gun laws in this country rather troubling,’ Lucas says.
‘I think the threats people are under are heightened frankly when almost everybody can walk around with a firearm, particularly one of high capacity. That’s a very real problem. In terms of what we’ll do there will be a strong law enforcement presence everywhere. As for VIPs they will be the safest people in this city, in this country, not only with their own security teams but also enhanced security with help from local law enforcement.’
Lucas has been central to planning and has even been in discussions with the FA over ensuring that England will have the use of a private golf course while they are here. That may not have been too tricky given there are more than 60 in the metropolitan area. ‘You’ll have to ask your friends at the FA which one they’re at,’ he says with a smile.
Wherever England go they will find a warm welcome. Kansas City is known for its hospitality and three days is long enough to find that the reputation is entirely justified. There is an excitement here, although they are waiting for the boom to arrive with hotel bookings still down on where they hoped they would be.
Much of that excitement, however, centres around the pending arrival of the South Americans and not Tuchel and his charges.
Indeed it is difficult not to see England as the poor relations, something which may suit them to the ground. The point was underlined once more before it was time to come home.
As we returned to the airport at the end of the trip, the driver was asked if he had heard of Harry Kane. He had not. He was then asked if he had heard of Lionel Messi. ‘Of course,’ was the rapid response.
