Heat advisory in effect today

The heat index could be over 100 today in Wyandotte County. (National Weather Service graphic)

Saturday’s heat index could be near 101 in Wyandotte County. Sunday’s heat index also could be over 100. (National Weather Service graphic)

A heat advisory will be in effect today from 11 a.m. through 8 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures today could reach a high near 94 with a heat index as high as 102, the weather service said.

Saturday’s high will be near 92 and Sunday’s, 93. It will be hotter starting Monday, with a high near 97, and high temperatures will continue on Tuesday. With rain in the forecast for Tuesday night, Wednesday’s high will be around 91.

Residents are advised to drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun and check on relatives and neighbors, the weather service said. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in a vehicle.

Those who work outdoors should take extra precautions, according to the weather service. When possible, reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Wear lightweight and loose-fitting clothing, and also, schedule frequent rest breaks in shaded or air-conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a shaded or air-conditioned location. Call 911 if it is heat stroke.

Today, it will be sunny with a high near 94 and a heat index as high as 102, the weather service said. A south southeast wind will be around 6 mph.

Tonight, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 74 and an east southeast wind of 3 to 5 mph, according to the weather service.

Saturday, it will be sunny, with a high near 92 and a heat index as high as 101, the weather service said. A southeast wind will be 6 to 9 mph.

Saturday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 72 and a southeast wind of 7 mph, according to the weather service.

Sunday, it will be sunny, with a high near 93 and a south wind of 6 to 11 mph, gusting as high as 20 mph.

Sunday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 74, according to the weather service.

Monday, it will be sunny and hot, with a high near 97, the weather service said.

Monday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 76, according to the weather service.

Tuesday, it will be sunny and hot, with a high near 97, the weather service said.

Tuesday night, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 73, according to the weather service.

Wednesday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers, with a high near 91, the weather service said.

Wednesday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 71, according to the weather service.

Thursday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 93, the weather service said.

Kansas City will hold World Cup soccer matches in 2026

by Greg Echlin, KCUR and Kansas News Service

FIFA officials announced on Thursday that Kansas City is among the cities selected to host soccer matches in the world’s biggest singular-sports event.

Kansas City will hold World Cup tournament soccer matches in 2026, FIFA announced Thursday afternoon.

Kansas City is among 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico that will hold matches in the world’s biggest singular-sports event. It will be the biggest sports event ever in the Kansas City area.

“The city is going to show out in 2026,” Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said in a pre-recorded message that accompanied FIFA’s announcement. “We can’t wait to welcome fans from across the globe to the heart of America and to the world’s loudest stadium.”

FIFA officials said 2026 will be the first time three countries are hosts for the World Cup. The other U.S. cities are Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle. In Mexico, host cities are Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. In Canada, Toronto and Vancouver will be hosts.

In a newly expanded format, the total of 48 teams and 80 matches will be the largest FIFA World Cup in history, FIFA officials said.

Though the teams and dates for 2026 have yet to be determined, the tournament is expected to have an enormous economic impact on the Kansas City region when it takes place, most likely in the month of July.

“We definitely presented the best argument for Kansas City,” said Jeff Sittner, Burns and McDonnell’s project manager for global facilities, who worked with the city’s organizing committee for more than two years to create a unique experience when the FIFA delegation visited Kansas City in October 2021.

Arrowhead Stadium hasn’t hosted a soccer match since 2015, when the national teams from Mexico and Paraguay squared off in a friendly match. But when FIFA delegates arrived in the fall, a team from Burns and McDonnell greeted them with Oculus headgear designed to give them a 3-D virtual reality look into Arrowhead in 2026.

When the FIFA committee members donned the headgear, they saw a soccer pitch image from an end zone view at Arrowhead. Because a soccer pitch is wider than an NFL football field, some lower bowl grandstand seats would be temporarily removed from one side.

“I think the Oculus and the presentation definitely is a wow factor,” Sittner said.

Through his 25 years in the sports venues design business, Sittner has worked with FIFA before. But he had never given FIFA a virtual reality picture of what was going to happen in the future.

“It was definitely the first time that FIFA has been presented concepts in this manner,” said Sittner. “They were very complimentary about that.”

The presentation required some last-minute adjustments after the delay of a meeting that was scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. with an Oculus device that was sensitive to sunlight. It didn’t start until two hours later.

“By that time, as you can imagine, the sun was changing positions we had set up on the field,” said Sittner. “It was starting to get rather warm. We moved from the field up to the press box. We tried to in advance (know) where they’re going to be and prepare for when they were going to see the VR. Our team was scrambling to put them in the right position.”

On Sunday, representatives of the Chiefs, Sporting Kansas City, the Kansas City Sports Commission and the Visit KC bureau will travel to New York for a series of FIFA workshops and meetings. FIFA is expected to relay a business model for each host city to follow during the next four years leading up to the 2026 matches.

“Modifying existing stadiums certainly come with its own set of challenges,” said Kansas City bid director Katherine Holland. “But at least you’ve got the infrastructure there from which to work and that’s been a lot of the conversation that we’ve engaged with them (FIFA) during the bid process, insuring them that Arrowhead can support these modifications.”

Sittner added, “When you consider what we’ve done when the Royals won the World Series, when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, all those events and the NFL Draft coming to Kansas City, there is a team of people that do an amazing job to make sure that people who attend those events have no idea how complicated and how much energy goes into it.”

The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-06-16/kansas-city-will-host-world-cup-soccer-matches-in-2026

Explorers walk off 7-6 in 10th inning

by Kaitlyn Sanders, Monarchs

Sioux City, Iowa — The Kansas City Monarchs (20-9) lost their second straight game against the Sioux City Explorers (13-15) with a walk-off game-winning RBI courtesy of Blake Tiberi in the 10th inning.

It looked like it might be the Monarchs’ night when Kansas City got the scoring going early in the first inning. Darnell Sweeney and Kevin Santa both reached on base hits and both came home to score on a pair of RBI singles from Matt Adams and David Thompson to take a 2-0 lead.

Sioux City answered quickly with an RBI single of its own from Ademar Rifaela in the bottom first. Chase Harris hit a single to left field, and Nick Franklin was walked before Rifaela brought in Harris with a single to right field, putting one run on the board at 2-1.

The Monarchs kept the scoring going in back-to-back innings with a solo home run from Casey Gillaspie off Sioux City starter Tyler Beardsley in the top second, making the score 3-1.

The Explorers tied it in the third at three each with a two-run home run from Rifaela off Jon Harris.

Kansas City was quiet for two innings, but Adams reached base with a single to right field before Gillaspie hit a double to deep left-center to bring in Adams and to take back the lead at 4-3 going into the bottom of the sixth.

Neither starter figured in the decision. Monarchs’ starting pitcher Jon Harris went 5.2 innings, giving up six hits and three earned runs with five strikeouts while Explorers’ starter Tyler Beardsley went six innings, giving up nine hits and four earned runs.

In the seventh, J.C. Escarra walked to lead off the inning before Darnell Sweeney doubled to left field. Kevin Santa drove in a pair of runs with a single to center, doubling the Monarchs lead at 6-3.

The Explorers were not going to go quietly as they added a run to the board in the bottom of the eighth. Nate Samson and Gabe Snyder both were walked by Monarchs pitcher Brandon Koch before Blake Tiberi delivered a base-hit single, bringing in Samson and cutting into the lead at 6-4.

A pitching change to Jameson McGrane with two outs didn’t deter Chase Harris as he delivered a game-tying two-RBI single as Snyder and Tiberi rounded the bases to tie the game at six.

In the top of the ninth, Joel Booker ran for Escarra who walked to start the inning. He then stole second base before advancing to third on a fielders choice. Gaby Guerrero reached first base on a walk, but the Monarchs left the two men stranded in scoring position when Matt Adams grounded into a fielders choice.

The game nearly did not go extra innings as the Monarchs escaped a bases-loaded no-out jam in the bottom of the ninth. Jameson McGrane hit Nick Franklin to start the inning before Rifaela and Samson both walked. With one out, the Monarchs got two outs on a line drive to right by Trey Martin and a throw home from Guerrero to double Franklin.

In the top of the 10th the Monarchs loaded the bases with two outs but could not score. Closer Thomas McIlraith got Alexis Olmeda to fly out to left to end the inning. The X’s then got the walk-off RBI double from Blake Tiberi off Matt Blackham to win the game 7-6.

The Monarchs will play game three in Sioux City at 7:05 p.m. Thursday, June 16. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:35 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.