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Sporting Kansas City

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Sporting Kansas City
File:Sportingkansascity.png
Full nameSporting Kansas City [1]
Nickname(s)Sporting, Sporting KC, Wizards, The Wiz, KC
Swope Park Rangers (reserves)
Founded1995 (as Kansas City Wiz)
GroundKC Soccer Stadium
Kansas City, Kansas
Capacity18,500
OwnerUnited States OnGoal, LLC.
Head CoachUnited States Peter Vermes
LeagueMajor League Soccer
2010Eastern Conference: 3rd
Overall: 9th
Playoffs: DNQ
Current season

Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that participates in Major League Soccer. In 2007, the team moved to Kansas from Kansas City, Missouri but with plans to build a new stadium in the Missouri city. However, they ultimately decided to build the new stadium on the Kansas side near the Kansas Speedway. The team won the MLS Cup in 2000, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2004, and the MLS Supporters Shield in 2000.

For the majority of its first 15 years of existence the team was known as the Kansas City Wizards. The team formally rebranded itself as Sporting Kansas City in November 2010 to coincide with its move to a new stadium for the 2011 season.[2]

History

The Wizards were known as the Kansas City Wiz during the 1996 season but changed names due to a trademark dispute. From 1995 until 2006, they were owned by Lamar Hunt, who also owned the Kansas City Chiefs, FC Dallas and the Columbus Crew.

In the 2000 season, the Wizards won both the MLS Supporters' Shield and the MLS Cup. In the previous two seasons, they had failed to make the playoffs.

On July 19, 2006, head coach Bob Gansler resigned and general manager Curt Johnson selected assistant coach Brian Bliss as the new interim head coach.[3] Curt Onalfo was announced the new permanent head coach after the end of the 2006 season.

On December 9, 2004, Lamar Hunt announced that he was looking to sell the team after the 2005 MLS season. On August 31, 2006, the Wizards held a press conference to announce the sale of the team to a local ownership group consisting of Cerner co-founders Neal Patterson and Cliff Illig, Rock Island Capital’s Robb Heineman, Greg Maday and David French, and Pat Curran, founder of C3 Holdings.[4]

With the 2010 rebranding, the team follows a recent tradition in MLS of adopting 'European'-style names. Other teams with such names include Toronto FC, DC United and Real Salt Lake. Hence, Kansas City adopted the name 'Sporting', related to famous soccer clubs around the World such as Sporting Clube de Portugal (or Sporting Lisbon), Sporting de Gijón and Sporting Cristal. The "Sporting" implies that the soccer club will be part of a larger sports umbrella. At the rebrand announcement, the team's president announced plans to add a rugby club and lacrosse club.

Colors and badge

Stadiums

Arrowhead Stadium, the Wizards' home for over a decade.

Arrowhead Stadium (1996–2007)

From 1996 to 2007, the Wizards played home games in Arrowhead Stadium, the American football stadium mainly used by the Kansas City Chiefs. Wizards management kept the west end of Arrowhead tarped off for the first 10 years of play, limiting seating near the field. In 2006, fans could sit all the way around the field, but in 2007 seating was only available along the sidelines. After the 2007 final season at Arrowhead, the Wizards continued to use the stadium for select large events. In 2008, the club played a regular season home game against the Los Angeles Galaxy at the stadium to accommodate the large crowd expected for David Beckham's Galaxy debut. Again in 2010, the Wizards played a friendly here against English club Manchester United, winning 2-1.

CommunityAmerica Ballpark (2008–2010)

The Wizards entered an agreement with the Kansas City T-Bones to use their home stadium, CommunityAmerica Ballpark, during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The deal was later extended to include 2010. The stadium, located across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas, built a new bleacher section financed by the Wizards to increase its capacity to 10,385. This move made the Wizards the third MLS team to share their home ground with a baseball team. D.C. United had been sharing RFK Stadium with Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals in Washington, D.C., before the latter's move into Nationals Park. The San Jose Earthquakes used Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, home of the Oakland A's (and Oakland Raiders), for certain games during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

KC Soccer Stadium (2011—)

See also: KC Soccer Stadium

The Wizards originally planned to return to Kansas City, Missouri, and build a new stadium there – tentatively called Trails Stadium – as part of a major mixed-use development. The team had received all required approvals and was awaiting site demolition; however, the 2008–09 financial crisis ultimately led to the scrapping of the Trails Stadium project. The developer then sought a new site, quickly settling on a similar development in Kansas City, Kansas, known as Village West, near CommunityAmerica Ballpark and Kansas Speedway.

In September 2009, the developer asked Wyandotte County and Kansas state officials for permission to use revenues from existing tax increment financing in the Village West area to help finance the soccer complex.[5] On December 17, Wizards president Robb Heineman provided an update on the stadium situation published on team official website and blog,[6][7] basically identifying the Kansas City, Kansas, location as final, pending the signature of the final agreements. On December 21, construction machinery was already on the Legends site waiting to break ground.[8][9] On January 19, 2010, Wyandotte County approved the bonds to help finance the stadium,[10] and on January 20 the groundbreaking ceremony was made, with Wizards CEO Robb Heineman using heavy machinery to move dirt on the construction site.[11]

Club culture

Supporters

The main supporters group of Sporting Kansas City stand in a section known as "The Cauldron."[citation needed] The name is derived from the large metal pots used in witchcraft, due to the teams former name Wizards. Over the past few years, Sporting have seen dramatic growth in their fan section, with several fan groups adding their voice to The Cauldron culture and atmosphere.[citation needed]

The largest supporters group is known as "Hillcrest Syndicate."[citation needed] The group derives its name from Hillcrest Road which is the road on which the Trails Stadium would have been built if the project had not fallen through and then shifted to Kansas. Other groups - such as Southern Voodoo, the Yardbirds, and the BSE - are also currently a part of The Cauldron. After a strong presence in 2007 and 2008, the Sudakas have largely faded from the section, although several of their chants remain a part of the regular repertoire.[citation needed]

Official anthem

In 2007, Kansas City based rock band Blackpool Lights song “Ain’t Nobody Gonna Stop Us Now” was chosen as the official team anthem. Received by fans in a lukewarm response the song has not drawn much identity to the club although it continues to be played at the stadium before matches.

Broadcasting

Wizards matches are broadcast on KCWE (except for nationally broadcast matches), with Dave Borchardt on play-by-play and former Wizard Sasha Victorine providing color commentary.

Local Radio coverage is broadcasted live in English using the television feed on KCZZ 1480AM, Spanish broadcasting can be found on KDTD 1340AM.

Players and staff

Current roster

As of July 30, 2010.[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Denmark DEN Jimmy Nielsen
2 DF United States USA Michael Harrington
3 DF England ENG Korede Aiyegbusi
4 MF Grenada GRN Craig Rocastle
5 DF United States USA Matt Besler
6 DF Jamaica JAM Shavar Thomas
7 DF United States USA Chance Myers
8 MF Guadeloupe GLP Stéphane Auvray
9 FW United States USA Teal Bunbury
11 MF England ENG Ryan Smith
14 MF United States USA Jack Jewsbury
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF Honduras HON Roger Espinoza
18 GK United States USA Eric Kronberg
19 FW India IND Sunil Chhetri
20 FW Hungary HUN Zoltán Hercegfalvi
21 GK United States USA Jon Kempin
22 MF United States USA Davy Arnaud (captain)
23 FW Sierra Leone SLE Kei Kamara
27 MF Senegal SEN Birahim Diop
28 MF United States USA Graham Zusi
32 DF Greece GRE Nick Kounenakis
- FW Mexico MEX Omar Bravo

Notable former players

This list of former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left. It is clearly not yet complete and all inclusive, and additions and refinements will continue to be made over time.

Head coaches

General managers

Presidents

  • Robb Heineman (2006—present) [2]

Achievements

Record

Year-by-year

Year MLS Reg. Season MLS Cup Playoffs Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup CONCACAF
Champions' Cup/Champions League 		SuperLiga
1996 3rd, West Semi-Finals Quarter-Finals Did not qualify Started in 2007
1997 1st, West Quarter-Finals Round of 16 Did not qualify
1998 6th, West Did not qualify Round of 16 Did not qualify
1999 6th, West Did not qualify Did not qualify Did not qualify
2000 1st, West* Champions Round of 32 Did not qualify
2001 3rd, West Quarter-Finals Round of 16 Not held
2002 5th, West Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Semi-Finals
2003 2nd, West Semi-Finals Round of 16 Did not qualify
2004 1st, West Runners-up Champions Did not qualify
2005 5th, East Did not qualify Quarter-Finals Quarter-Finals
2006 5th, East Did not qualify Round of 16 Did not qualify
2007 5th, East Semi-Finals** Did not qualify Did not qualify Did not participate
2008 4th, East Quarter-Finals Quarter-Finals Did not qualify Did not qualify
2009 6th, East Did not qualify Quarter-Finals Did not qualify Group Stage
2010 3rd, East Did not qualify Did not qualify Did not qualify Did not qualify

International tournaments

Group Stage v. Peru Sporting Cristal -- 1:2
Group Stage v. Mexico Santos Laguna -- 2:4
Group Stage v. Ecuador Barcelona -- 3:2
Group Stage v. Peru Sporting Cristal -- 1:2
Group Stage v. Ecuador Barcelona -- 1:1
Group Stage v. Mexico Santos Laguna -- 0:1
First Round v. Trinidad and Tobago W Connection – 1:0, 2:0 (Wizards win 3:0 on aggregate)
Quarter-Finals v. Mexico Santos Laguna – 1:2, 2:0 (Wizards win 3:2 on aggregate)
Semi-Finals v. Mexico Monarcas Morelia – 1:6, 1:1 (Morelia advances 7:2 on aggregate)
First Round v. Costa Rica Deportivo Saprissa – 0:0, 2:1 (Saprissa advances 2:1 on aggregate after added extra time)
Group Stage v. Mexico Atlas -- 0:0
Group Stage v. United States New England Revolution -- 1:1
Group Stage v. Mexico Santos Laguna -- 1:3

Team records

Kerry Zavagnin, seen here training with the US national team, has played more games for the Wizards than any other player.

MLS regular season only

  • All-Time regular season record: 154-155-65 (Through April 20, 2008)

Average attendance

Year Reg. Season Playoffs
1996 12,878 7,754
1997 9,058 10,174
1998 8,073 DNQ
1999 8,183 DNQ
2000 9,112 8,243
2001 10,954 5,803
2002 12,255 9,484
2003 15,573 10,712
2004 14,819 10,977
2005 9,691 DNQ
2006 11,083 DNQ
2007 11,586 12,442
2008 10,686 10,385
2009 10,053 DNQ

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Kansas City Wizards Change Name To Sporting Kansas City
  3. ^ Luder, Bob (July 19, 2006). Gansler out as Wizards head coach. Kansas City Star
  4. ^ Luder, Bob (August 31, 2006). Wizards sold to local group, will remain in area. Kansas City Star
  5. ^ Kansas adjusts offer aimed at spurring Cerner, Wizards development near speedway, The Kansas City Star, December 08, 2009.
  6. ^ Heineman provides stadium update, KC Wizards Official Website.
  7. ^ Hillcrest Road - RH Stadium Update, OnGoal CEO/Wizards President Robb Heineman gives an update on the progress of the stadium project.
  8. ^ Hillcrest Road - Yellow Machines on Site, Equipment from Clarkson Construction showed up at the future site of the stadium in KCK.
  9. ^ Work starts on Kansas City Wizards stadium, Kansas City Business Journal - by Rob Roberts.
  10. ^ Stadium Approval News, KC Wizards Official Website.
  11. ^ Stadium Ground Breaking, Wizards Official Blog.
  12. ^ http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/kansas-city-wizards
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