KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – More than $2.3 million in victim assistance grants is now available for Kansas organizations that serve crime victims, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced Wednesday.

Six state grant programs administered through the Office of the Attorney General are open for application. The funding supports nonprofits and government agencies statewide that provide direct services to crime victims, including domestic violence shelters, sexual assault agencies, child advocacy centers, child exchange and visitation centers, and organizations serving human trafficking victims.

Friends of Yates, a 24/7 domestic violence shelter in Kansas City, Kansas, operates between 35 and 40 beds and says it runs at capacity as much as 80 to 90 percent of the year.

Executive Director Dr. Desmond Lamb said demand is not declining.

“We’re seeing kind of an uptake in domestic violent homicide, which is unfortunate,” Lamb said. “Domestic violence is definitely on the rise.”

Lamb said the shelter provides three meals a day, transportation to medical appointments, school transportation for children, and economic and family advocacy services to residents.

“We use every penny to provide direct services and trauma-informed care to those who we serve,” Lamb said.

Lamb said the shelter has historically received funding through the attorney general’s grant programs since the programs began more than 20 years ago. He said grant dollars help cover utilities, insurance, food, and overall shelter operations.

“Many times resources are not as prevalent and practical in marginalized communities as they are in other, more affluent communities,” Lamb said. “So when these resources become available, it is definitely an appreciated and a needed help.”

Kristen Czugala, Division Chief of Victim Services at the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, said the funding is drawn from district court fines and fees, as well as a portion of marriage license fees, along with some state general funds.

“This funding is really vital to our local programs,” Czugala said. “These awards are used to help support the agencies that are doing the hard work in the field, supporting victims of crime, helping them feel believed and supported and to be safe in our communities.”

The attorney general’s office typically awards approximately 100 individual grants to about 50 organizations each year across the six funding streams. The six programs open for application are:

• Child Exchange and Visitation Center Program (CEVC) — Provides supervised child exchange and visitation to children and families at risk due to domestic or family violence.
• Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Fund (HTVAF) — Established by the Legislature in 2013, supports training for law enforcement and services for human trafficking victims and victims of commercial sexual exploitation of a child.
• Child Abuse and Neglect Fund (CVAF-CA) — Supports ongoing operating expenses of programs assisting child victims.
• Crime Victims Assistance Fund (CVAF) — Supports ongoing operating expenses of programs assisting crime victims and helps establish and maintain new victim services programs.
• State Protection from Abuse Fund (PFA) — Provides temporary emergency shelter for adult victims of domestic violence or sexual assault and their dependent children, along with counseling and educational services.
• Child Advocacy Center Fund (CAC) — Supports ongoing operating expenses of child advocacy centers.

The first step of the application process is due April 10, 2026. Applications are submitted through the Grant Management System on the attorney general’s website at ag.ks.gov/divisions/victim-services/grant-programs. Awards are expected to be announced this summer.

Lamb said Friends of Yates plans to reapply.

“We keep our fingers crossed and we pray,” Lamb said. “And most generally, we get that phone call that puts a smile on our face.”

Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.

This article is part of our World Cup Stadium Guides series, in which we look at the 16 venues that will host matches at the 2026 tournament.

Amid the high-tech excess and luxury of modern NFL stadiums, nestled in Middle America and potentially on its last legs, Arrowhead Stadium stands tall and proud as an old-school sporting gem in Kansas City, Missouri.

It will never host a Super Bowl. It has no translucent roof, no 11,000-square-foot video board, swimming pool, or rooftop farm.

But for decades, and especially recently, it has been a fortress for the Kansas City Chiefs. Its best quality is its noise. During a Monday night game against the New England Patriots in September 2014, it housed the loudest outdoor sports crowd (142.2 decibels) in recorded history. It has become a stadium that makes opponents cower in fear.

In other words, among the 11 venues for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Arrowhead is the closest you will come to a European or South American soccer cathedral. Just don’t ask about the public transport.

What’s it known as normally? 

Colloquially, it’s Arrowhead Stadium.

Officially, it’s been “GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium” since 2021, when the Government Employees Health Association bought its naming rights. But everyone calls it “Arrowhead”.

Arrowhead was the name chosen long ago by Chiefs franchise founder Lamar Hunt, seemingly as a nod to the team’s Native American-inspired nickname and imagery, which has become controversial over the past two decades.

What will it be called for the World Cup?

Kansas City Stadium. Boring.

When was the stadium opened, how much did it cost, and who plays there normally? 

Built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Arrowhead is the oldest of the United States’ 11 venues for this World Cup. The NFL’s Chiefs have played there and operated the stadium since it opened in 1972.

Back then, it cost $43million to build — or about $370m (£277m) in 2026 dollars. A renovation in the late 2000s cost more, but this is still among the cheaper NFL stadiums.

It also hosts the occasional college football game and housed the Kansas City Wizards (the Major League Soccer club now called Sporting Kansas City) until 2007. But nowadays it rarely hosts soccer — unless a Copa América or Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami come to town. This World Cup will be by far the grandest event in the stadium’s history.

What are the most famous moments that have happened there?

It’s not a single moment, but from 2019 to 2023, Arrowhead became the first stadium to host five consecutive NFL conference championship games (effectively the semi-finals to decide which teams contest the Super Bowl). Two years later, it became the first to stage six of them in seven years.

The Chiefs won four of those six, en route to three Super Bowl titles. That, more than anything else, will be Arrowhead’s legacy.

How many fans can the stadium hold? And will it be at full capacity for the World Cup?

Although capacity is sometimes listed as more than 76,000, the Chiefs say it holds closer to 73,000 for their games. It used to seat more than 80,000, with a record crowd of 82,094 fans cramming in one day in November 1972, during its first season — but that was before various renovations.

For the World Cup, like all NFL stadiums being used for the tournament, its capacity will be lower — FIFA currently lists it as holding 67,513. A few thousand seats are being taken out to widen the field area, as soccer pitches are broader than NFL ones; others will be eaten up by broadcast and other media allocations.

The stadium’s capacity is listed as over 76,000, but it will be around 67,500 for the World Cup (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

What kind of pitch does it have? Has it had to change for the World Cup? If so, what have they done?

Natural Bermuda grass. But, like all NFL stadiums hosting World Cup games, a specialized “hybrid” natural grass will be installed for FIFA matches, which is slightly different from the surface it maintains for NFL games.

What are normal temperatures there in June/July and will fans be sheltered at its games? 

Kansas City’s summers get hot. More often than not over the past 10 years, on the dates of Arrowhead’s six World Cup matches this June and July, temperatures have topped 90F (32C), according to Weather Underground data compiled by The Athletic.

And no, there is no roof. There is no shade at all, really, neither in nor around the stadium. That’s why FIFA has scheduled all of Kansas City’s games to kick off after 6pm local time.

Are they changing anything else for the World Cup?

Over the past two NFL offseasons, Arrowhead underwent significant construction to prepare for the tournament.

In 2024, workers knocked out concrete to build a new utility room underneath the stadium’s lower bowl of seating — this will serve a “SubAir” system that will help aerate the pitch, just like at other World Cup stadiums.

Then, in 2025, they cut away more concrete underneath about 10 rows of seats along the field’s north sideline. More than 3,000 seats were taken out and placed on dismountable bleachers. Those were then reinstalled for the most recent NFL season, but will be removed for the World Cup to accommodate a wider soccer field — plus the surrounding space that FIFA and its broadcast partners require for cameras and other operations or activations.

As a result, the World Cup pitch will be slightly off-center, at least compared to the NFL one at Arrowhead. No seats were taken out on the south sideline because there is a tunnel underneath those stands, and a stairway up the field that could not be removed. As a result, the World Cup pitch will be slightly off-center, at least compared to the NFL field at Arrowhead. It will not affect matches, but it might look slightly odd from above.

How do I get there?

It’s complicated.

Beyond one standard bus route — the 47 Broadway line — no public transportation serves the stadium. There are around 20,000 parking spaces surrounding it, as many Chiefs fans typically drive to their games. But only around 4,000 of those will be available to supporters throughout the World Cup, according to Lindsey Douglas, the chief operating officer of Kansas City’s World Cup host committee. The rest will be inside security perimeters or blocked off for other purposes.

So, Kansas City has rented hundreds of buses ahead of the tournament, and will provide a “park-and-ride” service, with shuttles running to Arrowhead from five locations in the region — including the city’s downtown World Cup ‘Fan Fest’ location on the National WWI Museum and Memorial’s south lawn.

If you don’t have a car and can’t get to one of those shuttles, your best bet is a rideshare app such as Lyft or Uber.

What can fans expect at the stadium?

Typically, they’d see tailgating — when U.S. fans park up outside a stadium and share food and drink with each other well in advance of the day’s game. But with most of Arrowhead’s parking lots being closed off during the World Cup, it’s unclear how much of that will be possible or permitted.

Tailgating Chiefs fans before an NFL game at Arrowhead in 2018 (David Eulitt/Getty Images)

As for inside the stadium, there are multiple barbecue and burger joints scattered around the concourses. It’s unclear if FIFA will stick with this local fare or bring in its own food and beverage vendors.

Is there anything else we should know about this stadium?

The Chiefs recently announced they plan to move out of Arrowhead, to a new domed stadium across the nearby state border on neighbouring Kansas’ side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, in 2031.

That has left local government officials in its home of Jackson County, Missouri, sorting through potential plans for the site from 2031 onwards.

Which games are being played there?

• June 16: Group J — Argentina vs Algeria; 8pm local time, 2am BST
• June 20: Group E — Ecuador vs Curacao; 7pm local time, 1am BST
• June 25: Group F — Tunisia vs Netherlands; 6pm local time, 12am BST
• June 27: Group J — Algeria vs Austria; 9pm local time, 3am BST
• July 3: Round of 32 (Match 87); 8.30pm local time, 2.30am BST
• July 11: Quarterfinal (Match 100; 8pm local time, 2am BST

The Stadium Guides series is part of a partnership with StubHub.

The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics in Kansas, Missouri and at the local level. Share your story idea with Charlie.

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The annual Kansas City St. Patrick’s Day parade, themed “Irish Kicks in 2026 — A Celebration of Sport,” wound through Westport and down Broadway on Tuesday, marking the last major event in Kansas City before the World Cup.

Soccer balls bounced down the route, were tied to the tops of trucks and dangled behind trolleys.

Kansas City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade doubles as World Cup welcome party

Anna Scholten, who watched the parade, said the dual celebration felt natural.

“They’re supporting the World Cup coming. So we’re all kind of tying communities together,” Scholten said.

Mayor Quinton Lucas and other parade participants walked past security measures that included a large police presence and public works trucks barricading the route.

“Whether it’s the World Cup or an annual tradition like the St. Patrick’s Day parade, Kansas Citians love to come together,” Lucas said. “They love to bring families out and have great events like this one.”

John Batten/KSHB

Tuesday’s parade brought Clyde Griffin out for the first time in his more than 60 years of living in Kansas City.

“I figured at my age, this is the time to do it,” he said. “I wanted to make this off my bucket list.”

John Batten/KSHB

Among the crowd was a young boy named Dakovin. He hopes to march with a drill team one day — and see the World Cup in Kansas City. His mother, Myasia, said big events bring people together.

“I feel like once they do the big events, everybody comes together and actually enjoy when they get a chance,” Myasia said.

John Batten/KSHB

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The Irish national soccer team still has work to do before it can join the party. The team must win two more matches to qualify for the World Cup, with its next game scheduled for March 26.

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.

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