Parking at UMKC now, and into the World Cup summer

 With the World Cup coming to Kansas City this summer and UMKC offering residence hall space to game officials, students worry about what parking will look like in the coming months.

  “I do not expect that we will have the volume of vehicles parking that will impact the ability of students to get to their classes,” said UMKC Parking Operations Manager Ken Bledsoe.

  Bledsoe said about 500 people are expected to be living on campus for the World Cup between June 24-28. “There will be less than half as many living on campus the weekends before and after that.”

  “With 1300 parking spaces in the Cherry Street Parking Structure alone, this should have minimal impact on the availability of parking spaces this summer,” Bledsoe said.

  Bledsoe also said that there will only be two World Cup games happening during the week, leading to minimal effects on students. The two dates that he said could pose a bit more of an issue are Tuesday, June 16 at 8 p.m. and Thursday, June 25 at 6 p.m.

  “During the game days, I would recommend that students, and employees, instead look to the Rockhill Parking Structure, and the various flat lots around campus, which are appropriate for their permit type,” Bledsoe said.

  Mason Johnson, a civil engineering junior, worried about the lack of resources that tell students what to expect this summer.

  “The big deal is we have parking that’s scattered throughout the campus, and we don’t have a whole lot of resources online telling you, ‘hey, these are some good locations that are effective for parking,’” Johnson said.

  There will be six World Cup games in Kansas City this summer, on June 16, June 20, June 25, June 27, July 3 and July 11.

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