World Series of Barbecue®

The new American Royal facility is located at State Avenue and 118th Street in Kansas City, Kansas, just northwest of Kansas Speedway.

The campus sits on about 80 acres east of 118th Street. The permanent address will be 1899 American Royal Way. The temporary construction address is 11602 State Avenue.

Our new facility is still under construction. For the next couple of years, we will not be able to have the full footprint we’ve had in the past. Capacity will be limited, but this is temporary as we work toward a better long-term home for the event. Once construction is complete, we will be able to expand team capacity and offer larger spaces again.

Right now, we’re planning for about 350 to 400 teams, depending on how the final layout comes together. We’re actively looking at every option to fit in as many teams as we reasonably can.

To fit as many teams as possible, we’re offering a limited set of space sizes:

• 20×25 – $400
• 20×50 – $1,000
• 25×40 – $1,000

There will also be a small number of large spaces inside the barns for corporate parties.

Yes, during registration, you will be able to list your preferred neighbors. We will do our best to honor those requests, but we can’t guarantee it with the tighter layout this year.

We’ll share a preliminary map before registration opens so you can get a sense of the layout and submit general area preferences in advance. The map will be refined as we finalize placements.

Primarily 20 amp, with 50 amp available in one section at an additional cost.

There won’t be individual water hookups at team spots this year. We will have multiple shared water access points around the grounds. If you’re bringing an RV, plan to arrive with your tanks full.

Judging will be inside the barns, with one centralized turn-in location for all categories.

The overall contest schedule will look very similar to what you’re used to:

• Saturday, October 3: Invitational, Sides and Kids Que
• Sunday, October 4: Open Contest

Categories will remain the same, except turkey smoke won’t be included in 2026.

We’re using a tiered registration system to recognize commitment to returning, qualifying and loyal teams.

• May 11-17: Returning 2025 teams
• May 18-24: 2026 Invitational Qualifiers
• May 25-31: Teams with 20+ years of participation
• June 1: Open registration begins

Each group gets a one-week window and will need to submit at least 50% payment to lock in their space. Once spaces are filled, we’ll start a waitlist.

We know this event doesn’t exist without the teams who’ve shown up year after year. Teams with 20+ years in will get early access to registration before it opens to the public as our way of recognizing commitment and loyalty.

The American Royal, in conjunction with the Kansas City Barbecue Society, has reduced the 2nd year qualifying requirement to 20 teams. The grand champion team from any competition with 20 teams competing, retroactive to July 1, 2025, will be eligible for the World Series of Barbecue Invitational competition. For 2026, the invitational qualifying period is July 1, 2024-June 30, 2026.

This reduced team count will apply to all sanctioning bodies, not only KCBS.