Sporting Club and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas unveiled the Wyandotte Sporting Fields during a commemorative ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback joined Kansas City, Kansas Mayor Mark Holland, Sporting Club CEO Robb Heineman, Unified Government representatives and more than 150 youth soccer players from Metro United Soccer Club to formally inaugurate the world-class facility.
“Sporting KC continues to set the standard for excellence in Kansas City, Kansas and the metro area,” Holland said. “Whether it is their soccer stadium, the National Training and Coaching Development Center, youth fields or futsal courts, Sporting KC is on the cutting edge. The Unified Government is proud to partner with them on the opening of these soccer fields.
“We are delighted to unveil the newest crown jewel of soccer in Kansas City alongside Governor Brownback, Mayor Holland and the Unified Government,” Heineman said. “Through our excellent partnership, we have built another first-class facility that will help grow the sport across the region and leave a profound economic and commercial impact for years to come. The Wyandotte Sporting Fields exemplify our commitment to the growth and development of youth soccer, and we are excited to host thousands of players at this venue on an annual basis.”
Situated between State Avenue and Parallel Parkway at 1500 N. 90th Street, Wyandotte Sporting Fields is a 52-acre complex that features 12 playing fields — four with natural grass and eight with cutting-edge synthetic turf that provide a premier, soccer-specific playing surface for all levels of play. The venue will draw an estimated 1.3 million visitors annually, making a profound commercial and economic impact in Kansas City, Kansas.
The complex is conveniently located two miles northeast of the junction of Interstate-70 and Interstate-435 and less than three miles from the Village West Entertainment District and Children’s Mercy Park, the home stadium of Sporting Kansas City. The state-of-the-art National Training and Coaching Center is currently under construction a mile west of the Wyandotte Sporting Fields.
More than 80,000 Sporting Club Network members will call the Wyandotte Sporting Fields their home training base, including primary tenant KC Fusion. In addition, the facility will regularly host elite youth soccer leagues and tournaments at regional and national levels, making it an epicenter for the sport’s growth and a destination for some of the nation’s premier athletic events.
“KC Fusion is very excited to enter a long-term partnership with Sporting Kansas City and call the Wyandotte Sporting Fields home for our club,” said Nate Houser, Executive Director of Metro United Soccer Club. “Our coaches, players and families will benefit from our renewed sense of community as they all work, learn and grow on the fields of this new facility.”
All eight synthetic turf fields will be lit under MUSCO Sports Lighting’s computer-controlled Light Structure Green system. The four natural grass fields will be irrigated by the innovative InteliRain system that uses a computer algorithm to adjust for wind shift, allowing for optimal water coverage and saving thousands of gallons yearly over traditional irrigation systems.
Wyandotte Sporting Fields will offer more than 1,000 paved parking spaces around the perimeter of the venue and an additional 175 grass parking spaces for larger events. The complex is anchored at the south end by a modern concession and restroom stand, situated near a paved plaza that serves as a gathering space with picnic tables. A sophisticated lightning and tornado siren will accompany the facility’s voice announcement system.
Thursday’s momentous event was held in conjunction with the launch of Sporting Fields + Athletics, a new entity owned and operated by Sporting Club that consists of Wyandotte Sporting Fields and state-of-the-art Swope Soccer Village, built in 2007 with further renovations in 2014, located at 6310 Lewis Rd. in Kansas City, Missouri.
Under the ownership of Sporting Club, Sporting Fields + Athletics will operate all athletic events held at Wyandotte Sporting Fields and Swope Soccer Village year-round. The two complexes collectively boast 21 full-size soccer fields, including seven with natural grass and 14 with synthetic turf.
Swope Soccer Village features nine full-size soccer fields as the current training home of Sporting Kansas City, the Swope Park Rangers and the Sporting KC Academy. The complex includes Children’s Mercy Victory Field, which serves as the Rangers’ home stadium and has frequently hosted the Big 12 Soccer Championship as well as NCAA Division II and III national championships.
Wyandotte Sporting Fields is one of two first-class athletic facilities set to open this year in Kansas City, Kansas. The National Training and Coaching Development Center will accommodate the Children’s Mercy Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center and the U.S. Soccer National Coaching Education Center, making Kansas City the hub for youth athlete sports medicine services and overall soccer development in the U.S. Located a quarter-mile east of N. 98th Street and Parallel Parkway, the NTCDC will also be the new training home of Sporting Kansas City, capable of hosting clubs and national teams from around the world.
Wyandotte Sporting Fields is the latest venture in a long-term partnership between Sporting Club and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. Children’s Mercy Park opened in 2011 and has hosted many high-profile soccer matches at the club, college and international levels. In an initiative targeted to foster local youth, 19 futsal courts have been built at 10 different locations across Wyandotte County since 2013.
About Sporting Club
Sporting Club is a high-performance entertainment business offering the highest quality experiences through its unique, superior products and world-class facilities. The entity was founded by a group of local Kansas City business and community leaders comprised of Neal Patterson, Cliff Illig, Pat Curran, Greg Maday and Robb Heineman. Priding itself on a commitment and vision to provide high-performance entertainment and consumer experiences, Sporting Club purchased Sporting Kansas City from the Hunt Sports Group in 2006. Under its direction, Sporting Kansas City has opened state-of-the-art Children's Mercy Park and Wyandotte Sporting Fields in Kansas City, Kansas and world-class Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri. Sporting Club has also invested in the Sporting KC Academy for developing local youth into homegrown talent and will open the stunning National Training and Coaching Development Center in December 2018. Sporting KC was crowned MLS Cup champion in 2013, claiming a second league title in the team's 22-year history as a charter member of Major League Soccer, and is also a three-time winner of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (2004, 2012, 2015).
