Columbia bars prep for World Cup with extended hours and ‘Adopt a Team’ initiative
Sutton Parker
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
As the World Cup kicks off on Thursday, soccer fans in Columbia will have an extra hour to celebrate in select bars.
Last year, Gov. Mike Kehoe signed House Bill 1041, allowing bars to remain operational for up to 23 hours a day during the World Cup. However, the Columbia City Council chose to opt out and allow bars to remain open an extra hour on select days if they filed an application.
Megan McConachie, the Communication and Outreach Supervisor with the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the application is more of an informational piece.
“We look at it, we share it over with our friends at CPD and the fire department, and then they can go and approve that. It is just so everyone is on the same page,” she said.
The Roof and The Deuce Pub & Pit so far are the only local establishments approved for the extended hours. And McConachie said Eastside Tavern is still in the approval process.
“We recommend applying at least two weeks in advance of the date(s) they would like their hours to be extended. At this point, that leaves only two of the remaining dates.” she said.
As for how the Columbia Police Department is preparing, they say they have been in in meetings since August 2025 alongside other local officials. When it comes to bars operating for extended hours, the department says they will be operating as if it is any other bar night.
The dates bars will be allowed to apply to stay open later include:
June 14
June 17
June 20
June 21
June 23
June 27
July 3
For establishments not taking advantage of the extended hours, the city’s “Adopt a Team” imitative is drawing tournament excitement directly to local venues. The program pairs local bars and restaurants with official World Cup teams, turning the business into local fan headquarters.
Matt Jenne, co-owner of Addison’s, says they wanted to get in on the World Cup Fun by adopting team Argentina.
“I felt like it was kind of a neat idea, Argentina is a good compromise,” Jenne said. “And I think the other thing is that they are actually playing in Kansas City, so there will be some extra excitement about that.”
As opting into the extended hours, Jenne said the tournaments time zones do not justify the late hours.
“These games are not in Korea, they are here in the United States and so it seems like most of the games are during the say or in the evening at a reasonable time so that made sense to us,” he said.
The businesses and corresponding teams include:
Addison’s – Argentina
The Heidelberg – Germany
Hooters – Mexico
Rio Grande – Team USA
The Deuce Pub & Pit – Brazil
The Roof – New Zealand
Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux – France