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Group of people in business attire cutting a teal ribbon at a ceremony with a microphone and audience visible, indicating an official opening event.

Riverside Stadium & Performance Center unveiling. GIF: Abbey Higginbotham/Axios

The Kansas City Current opened a 2,000-seat stadium and new training complex in Riverside on Tuesday, completing a $52 million expansion of its player facilities.

The big picture: With the Riverside campus now open, the Current has a dedicated development home separate from CPKC Stadium, where the club plays its NWSL matches on the riverfront.

The campus will serve as a year-round base for the club's second team and youth development programs.

Zoom in: Riverside Stadium will be the home of Kansas City Current II, the club's fully funded second team launched in 2025 to bridge youth and college players to the professional roster.

Interior of a gym with green turf floor, weight racks with black and white plates, and people walking around. Walls painted blue with Kansas City Current logo and large red "KC".

Training facility for KC Current. Photo: Abbey Higginbotham/Axios

The adjacent Performance Center adds indoor space for year-round training, pushing the club's Riverside training and headquarters footprint past 35,000 square feet.

Four new grass fields bring the campus total to 12 grass and turf fields, including one heated field.

Outdoor soccer training area with artificial green turf enclosed by black netting and frames, featuring Goal Station branding and a black banner with a red and blue KC shield logo.

One of the many practice fields. Photo: Abbey Higginbotham/Axios

What they're saying: "Five years ago, this was all dirt," co-owner Angie Long told Axios. "We started with two fields and one building. Two to three years later, we grew it."

She says the expansion centers on building a clear pipeline in a country with what she called "a million and a half young female soccer players."

"Figuring out the pathway is incredibly important," she said. "That's a competitive advantage for us."

Flashback: The club announced the project and broke ground in July 2025.

At the same ceremony, the Current also introduced Goal Station, a sports science training system that blends cognitive drills with physical performance work and includes an outdoor training area behind the Performance Center.

Outdoor event with people seated on black folding chairs in front of a modern building with a large KC shield logo, a speaker on a stand, and cloudy sky overhead.

The outside of the facility. Photo: Abbey Higginbotham/Axios.

What's next: The Netherlands selected the Current's Riverside campus as its Kansas City-area training base for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, making it one of only two host cities with four selections.

Chris Long told Axios the Netherlands chose Riverside in part because of the campus's structure. "They wanted the business side and the football side together in one place," he said. "That's what we built."

Go deeper: Stadiums are becoming more like micro-cities

These big developments will change KC in 2026

KC Current opens Riverside stadium, training complex

The new campus expands youth development and will host the Netherlands in 2026.

<figure><img alt="Group of people in business attire cutting a teal ribbon at a ceremony with a microphone and audience visible, indicating an official opening event." height="720" id="9e1a3037-8ee1-45c2-995e-9ffc8ecfb3dc" src="https://images.axios.com/XUi1vDAaKkES3W4Z9EF7tTkhN-4=/2026/02/24/1771971363224.gif" width="1280"/><figcaption>Riverside Stadium &amp; Performance Center unveiling. GIF: Abbey Higginbotham/Axios</figcaption></figure>The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Kansas City Current" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2025/11/26/womens-sports-kansas-city-ranking" data-vars-content-id="51e9f77e-c7b7-4bbf-8b77-617bcb013a5f" data-vars-headline="KC Current opens Riverside stadium, training complex" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2025/11/26/womens-sports-kansas-city-ranking" target="_self">Kansas City Current</a> opened a 2,000-seat stadium and new training complex in Riverside on Tuesday, completing a $52 million expansion of its player facilities.The big picture: With the Riverside campus now open, the Current has a dedicated development home separate from CPKC Stadium, where the club plays its NWSL matches on the riverfront.<ul><li>The campus will serve as a year-round base for the club&#x27;s second team and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="youth development programs" data-vars-click-url="https://www.kansascitycurrent.com/news/kansas-city-current-introduces-teal-rising-alliance" data-vars-content-id="51e9f77e-c7b7-4bbf-8b77-617bcb013a5f" data-vars-headline="KC Current opens Riverside stadium, training complex" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.kansascitycurrent.com/news/kansas-city-current-introduces-teal-rising-alliance" target="_blank">youth development programs</a>.</li></ul>

Sports

Development

News

Kansas City leaders are launching a $1 million Housing Gateway Program to move people indoors more quickly as homelessness rises.

Why it matters: The effort relies on flexible local dollars that aren't tied to federal restrictions, giving the city more control over how quickly and where the money is deployed.

Zoom in: The Housing and Community Development Department will run the program through its Office of Unhoused Solutions.

In a news release this month, Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw called it "a critical first step" toward a longer-term, public-private strategy.

Deputy housing director Mary Owens said at the news briefing last week that the program aims to build a locally funded municipal unhoused program, with "guaranteed reductions in unsheltered homelessness."

By the numbers: City materials tie the program to a broader housing crunch.

The city has said there has been a shortage of 64,000 affordable homes and a 7% increase in rents since 2024.

Officials also say the number of people living outside has grown by almost 170% since 2018.

How it works: The $1 million flexible fund is designed to remove practical barriers that often prevent people from leaving an encampment and moving into housing.

It can cover short-term rental assistance, security deposits, utility payments, transportation to housing appointments, and other immediate costs that federal programs typically cannot pay quickly.

City officials say the goal is to close small but critical funding gaps that delay housing placements or cause people to lose units they have already been approved for.

What they're saying: "This is first and foremost a humanitarian challenge that calls for empathy, urgency, and shared responsibility," Commerce Bank Kansas City CEO Kevin Barth said in a city release.

Councilmember Johnathan Duncan acknowledged the funding alone will not solve the crisis, saying, "There will always be those who critique and say $1 million isn't enough, and you're right."

He called the program "the first seed" toward broader change.

Between the lines: Owens said KC is borrowing from the approach in Houston, where the region's unhoused population has fallen 61% since 2011, according to the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County.

What's next: City Manager Mario Vasquez will form an advisory board over the next six months and is expected to bring recommendations to the City Council in August on how KC responds to the unhoused community and what to change.

KC puts $1M toward new homelessness strategy

City leaders say the flexible fund will help move people experiencing homelessness indoors faster.

Illustration of a repeating pattern of houses with the center house radiating a blue gradient.

Kansas City leaders are launching a $1 million <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Housing Gateway Program" data-vars-click-url="https://www.kcmo.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2898/1746" data-vars-content-id="5360b410-406a-4697-bf7a-1ec7b006171d" data-vars-headline="KC puts $1M toward new homelessness strategy" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.kcmo.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2898/1746" target="_blank">Housing Gateway Program</a> to move people indoors more quickly as homelessness rises.Why it matters: The effort relies on flexible local dollars that aren&#x27;t tied to federal restrictions, giving the city more control over how quickly and where the money is deployed.

The Kansas City Curling Club has signed up hundreds of new people to try curling since the Winter Olympics began, flooding its facility with first-timers eager to slide a stone.

Why it matters: The club is the only dedicated curling facility within 350 miles of KC, and Olympic buzz is boosting interest in the niche winter sport.

State of play: Curling's popularity always rises during the Winter Games. This year, two U.S. silver medals are keeping it in the spotlight.

How it works: Curling teams throw 42-pound granite "rocks" toward the "house" (target) on ice that's been sprayed with water — this gives it a pebbly surface.

Indoor curling rink with players in black and red jackets preparing to throw stones on ice marked with circles. Flags hang on the wall; people stand and watch in the background.

The KC Curling Club in action. Photo: Courtesy of the Kansas City Curling Club

The name comes from the way the rock arcs as it moves down the ice — a phenomenon that's inspired dozens of scientific papers.

Zoom in: The club hosts Olympic watch parties while juggling packed curling lessons.

Club president DeeAnn Wlodarski tells Axios they're receiving calls every day from people who saw curling on TV and want to try it.

By the numbers: Nearly 600 people have registered for the club's curling experience lessons in the past month, according to Wlodarski.

The club had just under 200 league members before the Olympics and hopes to add about 50 more from this surge.

The curling experience is $40 and teaches delivery, sweeping and the basic rules.

New players can join beginner play without committing to a full season.

Leagues run in the fall, winter and spring, with discounted rates for first-time players.

Indoor curling game with several players in green shirts, one sitting on the ice. Multiple red and yellow curling stones near a target with red, white, and blue rings.

An intense match. Photo: Courtesy of the Kansas City Curling Club

Flashback: Founded in 1987, the club spent decades renting time on hockey rinks before opening its own dedicated facility along I-70 in Blue Springs in 2021.

Today it operates as an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) with leagues, bonspiel tournaments and corporate rentals.

What they're saying: Many newcomers quickly realize curling looks easier on TV than it feels on ice.

"The very first thought from newcomers is, 'Oh, this is harder than I expected,'" Wlodarski says.

"Then they keep coming and they're like, 'OK, I can do this!' They realize how fun it is," she says. "It's not just the curling. It's the community. It makes people stick around."

The bottom line: If you've watched curling at the Olympics and thought, "I could do that," you can join the hundreds of Kansas Citians who already are.

Olympic fever packs the ice at KC Curling Club

Nearly 600 people signed up to try curling during the Winter Olympics surge.

Illustration of a curling rock and two brooms on a curling rink.

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="The Kansas City Curling Club" data-vars-click-url="https://kccurling.com/" data-vars-content-id="8651eaec-21c1-41d4-9a2f-e88329246674" data-vars-headline="Olympic fever packs the ice at KC Curling Club" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://kccurling.com/" target="_blank">The Kansas City Curling Club</a> has signed up hundreds of new people to try curling since the Winter Olympics began, flooding its facility with first-timers eager to slide a stone.Why it matters: The club is the only dedicated curling facility within 350 miles of KC, and Olympic buzz is boosting interest in the niche winter sport.

Things to Do

Olympics

A judge will decide whether Missouri's 2025 congressional map, which splits Kansas City into three districts, violates the state constitution.

Why it matters: The map will shape Missouri's 2026 midterm elections and could affect the partisan balance of the state's congressional delegation.

Zoom in: The case, Healey v. Missouri, challenges House Bill 1, which Gov. Mike Kehoe signed during a special session to redraw Missouri's congressional districts and divide KC.

The lawsuit says Missouri can redraw congressional districts only after a new U.S. census is certified, a once-a-decade process. Plaintiffs argue lawmakers acted outside that timeline in 2025.

They are asking the court to block the map from being used in future elections.

Between the lines: The Missouri Constitution requires congressional districts to be compact and contiguous. Courts have said districts must form "closely united territory."

Plaintiffs say the new map is not as compact as required and argue Missouri's 4th, 5th and 6th congressional districts now stretch more than 200 miles, dividing long-established KC neighborhoods.

What they're saying: "The new gerrymander undermines representation for rural and urban communities by forcing these very different communities into districts that stretch hundreds of miles across the state," National Redistricting Foundation executive director Marina Jenkins said in a press briefing Thursday.

The other side: Republican state leaders have defended the Legislature's authority to redraw the map during a special session.

A Cole County judge ruled earlier this month that Gov. Mike Kehoe had constitutional authority to call the special session.

That decision did not address whether the congressional map violates the compactness requirement.

What's next: Congressional candidate filings begin Feb. 24, increasing pressure for a clear answer on which district lines will be used.

Jenkins said courts have the authority to adjust filing timelines if necessary.

What we're watching: Separately, a political organization called People Not Politicians submitted roughly 300,000 signatures seeking a veto referendum that would let voters decide in November 2026 whether to repeal the map.

The secretary of state must verify those signatures before the measure can qualify for the ballot, and separate lawsuits are challenging aspects of that process.

Court ruling looms over Missouri's congressional map

A judge will decide whether Missouri's new map splitting Kansas City can stand for 2026 elections.

Two black and white maps of Missouri counties; left map shows all counties with bold black outlines highlighting regions labeled 1 to 8; right map zooms in on Kansas City area with detailed county divisions and labels.

Kansas City's proposed districts. Maps: Gov. Mike Kehoe's office

A judge will decide whether <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Missouri&#x27;s 2025 congressional map" data-vars-click-url="https://budplan.oa.mo.gov/redistricting-office/2025-us-congressional-house-maps" data-vars-content-id="9128d60c-e3db-41a5-93de-315c828a5a33" data-vars-headline="Court ruling looms over Missouri&#x27;s congressional map" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://budplan.oa.mo.gov/redistricting-office/2025-us-congressional-house-maps" target="_blank">Missouri&#x27;s 2025 congressional map</a>, which splits Kansas City into three districts, violates the state constitution.Why it matters: The map will shape Missouri&#x27;s 2026 midterm elections and could affect the partisan balance of the state&#x27;s congressional delegation.

Politics

As the Trump administration ramps up federal immigration enforcement, experts say children across the country may be absorbing the fear and uncertainty of ICE operations.

Why it matters: Experiencing traumatic events in childhood can create lasting physical and mental health challenges that extend into adulthood, Sita Patel, a clinical psychology professor at Palo Alto University, tells Axios.

The big picture: Patricia Lopez Ruiz, a bilingual therapist at the Mattie Rhodes Center who works in schools, tells Axios that some children who are aware of a relative's immigration status have experienced a major increase in anxiety and stress symptoms.

Exposure to constant media coverage, unpredictability and violence creates stress and trauma that Patel says "will absolutely have an impact on many people's life course in terms of health and capacity to contribute and thrive."

Zoom in: Kids may come to school tired, distracted or struggling to concentrate, Lopez Ruiz says.

Younger children may have more tantrums or act out when they feel dysregulated.

Children may also show stress through withdrawal, avoidance, changes in eating, or loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed, she says.

What to expect: Lopez Ruiz urges parents to look for changes in routines and behavior, including isolation from friends or developmental regression in younger children.

Parents often notice small shifts first, she says. If concerns persist, families can seek counseling or case management support. The Mattie Rhodes Center offers bilingual behavioral health services in KC.

The latest: Holding New Therapy, a Kansas-based virtual practice, recently launched a two-week support group, Parenting During an Immigration Crisis, for parents from various racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Licensed clinical social worker Ana Regalado-Gil says she created the group after noticing a rise in anxiety in her office and community.

Some children worry their parents "won't come home," she says. Others have nightmares, refuse to go to school, or ask for constant reassurance.

Regalado recommends maintaining predictable routines, setting clear after-school plans, limiting exposure to stressful news, and using age-appropriate language when answering questions.

"The goal is to help families build resilience, not pretending the stress isn't here," Regalado-Gil says.

The bottom line: Therapists say children often absorb fear even when adults try to shield them from it. Noticing changes early and talking openly can help prevent stress from deepening.

Go deeper: ICE's detention of child puts new focus on Trump team's tactics

How ICE enforcement stress affects kids — and what parents can do

As federal immigration enforcement ramps up, Kansas City therapists report rising anxiety among children. Here's what parents should watch for and how to help.

Photo illustration of a father and son laid on top of an abstract background of ICE protests and a repeating pattern of ICE agents. 

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios; Photo: Aaron Lavinsky/The Minnesota Star Tribune and Scott Olson/Getty Images

As the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Trump" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" data-vars-content-id="d0c3670a-7ce3-4159-a68f-c0e8a3893184" data-vars-headline="How ICE enforcement stress affects kids — and what parents can do" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_self">Trump</a> administration ramps up federal <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="immigration enforcement" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/15/twin-cities-occupied-by-federal-agents-turmoil" data-vars-content-id="d0c3670a-7ce3-4159-a68f-c0e8a3893184" data-vars-headline="How ICE enforcement stress affects kids — and what parents can do" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/15/twin-cities-occupied-by-federal-agents-turmoil" target="_self">immigration enforcement</a>, experts say <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="children across the country" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/30/ice-trump-children-mental-health-parents-immigration" data-vars-content-id="d0c3670a-7ce3-4159-a68f-c0e8a3893184" data-vars-headline="How ICE enforcement stress affects kids — and what parents can do" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/30/ice-trump-children-mental-health-parents-immigration" target="_self">children across the country</a> may be absorbing the fear and uncertainty of ICE operations.Why it matters: Experiencing traumatic events in childhood can create lasting physical and mental health challenges that extend into adulthood, Sita Patel, a clinical psychology professor at Palo Alto University, tells Axios.

Abbey Higginbotham

Featured stories

KC Current opens Riverside stadium, training complex

KC puts $1M toward new homelessness strategy

How ICE enforcement stress affects kids — and what parents can do

Court ruling looms over Missouri's congressional map

Olympic fever packs the ice at KC Curling Club