Governor Sam Brownback joined Sporting Club, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and representatives from Schlitterbahn Water Park and EPR Properties tonight to announce the development of a U.S. Soccer National Training Center complex in Kansas City, Kan. The facility will house the National Training and Coaching Development Center, an elite athlete training and performance analytics campus and national youth soccer development programs.
“Kansas’ strong economy and Kansas City’s reputation as a tremendous soccer city helped attract this state-of-the-art facility,” Brownback said. “As a result, our state will benefit from new jobs, investment and an economic impact that is projected to exceed $1 billion.”
“Player and coaching development is a main focus for U.S. Soccer, and we are pleased that Sporting Club is pursuing a world-class training facility to help the sport continue to grow and advance,” said Sunil Gulati, president of United States Soccer Federation. “We are looking forward to working with Sporting Club on the next steps towards the creation of the National Training and Coaching Development Center and anticipate it hosting our National Teams and coaching education programming in the future.”
The $75-plus million soccer village, which will be located at the southeast corner of Parallel Parkway and 98th Street, will provide a world-class environment to develop players, coaches and referees of all ages. The state-of-the-art facility will include approximately 100,000 square feet for a state of the art indoor facility with a practice field, eight lighted professional smart fields and eight youth fields. Additional amenities will include a climate-controlled indoor pavilion and specialized facilities tailored toward strength and nutrition, hydration, sports science, health and wellness, video and analytics. The complex will also feature a 125-room full-service hotel.
The goal of the National Training and Coaching Development Center is to harness every resource available in order to execute U.S. Soccer's vision and aid in an aggressive pursuit of success on the international stage. Guided by the expertise of best-in-class partners, the high-performance campus will introduce a vertically integrated system of intelligent, data-driven training. Similar to the next-generation technology at Sporting Park, the Center will be wired to maximize innovation and make resources available for advanced research and development in athletic performance.
“This is a great opportunity for us to continue to grow soccer in Kansas City and further establish being the soccer capital of America,” Sporting Club CEO Robb Heineman said. “To us, this is equivalent to bringing another sports franchise here, with the ultimate goal of helping the United States win the World Cup through youth soccer development, coaching training, advanced sports science and world-class facilities. We would like to thank Governor Brownback, Secretary of Commerce George, Mayor Holland and the rest of the Unified Government. This has been a long and complex process thus far, but we’re excited for the vision of the project and to help bring substantial economic development to the area.”
“The addition of a new world class training facility is another example of what true public and private partnerships are all about,” said Kansas City, Kan., Mayor Mark Holland. “U.S. Soccer has a solid track record of producing some of the finest soccer players, coaches and referees. This high quality training facility with structured programming along with Sporting Park, state-of-the-art soccer stadium, will undoubtedly transform Kansas City, Kan., and our region into one of the top soccer venues in the nation. We look forward to the new partnership with U.S. Soccer and the continued relationship with the Governor and the Department of Commerce, Sporting Club and Schlitterbahn as we continue to expound on the success of economic development projects in our community.”
During the next 30 years, the National Training and Coaching Development Center is anticipated to have a total economic impact of more than $1 billion for Kansas and Wyandotte County. The facility will house a variety of U.S. National Team training camps and bring opportunities for Sporting Park to host matches for the men’s and women’s National Teams at the youth and senior levels. The complex will also feature referee and coach education sessions and many additional U.S. Soccer events.
