Sporting KC releases 2019 MLS regular season schedule

Sporting Kansas City announced today the club’s 34-game schedule for the 2019 MLS regular season, which will kick off March 3 and conclude Oct. 6.

Single-game tickets to Sporting KC’s first eight home matches at Children’s Mercy Park — beginning with their 2019 home opener against the Philadelphia Union on March 10 and ending with a marquee matchup versus LA Galaxy on May 29 — will go on sale to the general public this Thursday, Jan. 10, at 10 a.m. CT via SeatGeek.com.

In addition, Sporting KC Season Ticket Members will have access to an exclusive single-game pre-sale for all 17 MLS home games beginning this Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 10 a.m. CT. For ticket inquiries and more information, supporters can call 888-4KC-GOAL.

First-place finishers in the Western Conference last year, Sporting will open the 2019 MLS campaign against LAFC on Sunday, March 3, at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. Manager Peter Vermes’ side will host Philadelphia a week later in their first of 17 home dates, which consist of nine Saturday matches, five Sunday fixtures, two Wednesday contests and one Thursday game at world-class Children’s Mercy Park.

Sporting’s home slate will once again feature a variety of exciting theme nights and promotions, including the return of Fan Appreciation Night, Retro Night, Local Night, Sporting Salutes and more. The club will unveil its full promotional schedule on Thursday.

Major League Soccer’s 24th season will see the league grow to 24 clubs with the addition of expansion side FC Cincinnati. As a member of the Western Conference, Sporting will meet each of its 11 conference rivals twice and all 12 Eastern Conference teams once over the course of 2019. The balanced alignment means Sporting will host 17 different opponents at Children’s Mercy Park while playing their 17 away games in 17 different venues.

2019 Home Opponents: Atlanta United FC, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, LAFC, LA Galaxy, Minnesota United FC, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

2019 Away Opponents: FC Cincinnati, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew SC, FC Dallas, D.C. United, Houston Dynamo, LAFC, LA Galaxy, Minnesota United FC, New York City FC, Orlando City SC, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Every Sporting KC regular season game will be televised live in 2019. FOX Sports Kansas City will serve as the club’s television home for the third straight year with play-by-play announcer Nate Bukaty, color commentator Matt Lawrence and sideline reporter Carter Augustine on the call. All regional telecasts will again stream live on the FOX Sports app, featuring 30 minutes of supplementary coverage both before kickoff and after the final whistle. FOX Sports Kansas City programming is also available on several live streaming TV services such as Sling TV, YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV and FuboTV.

Sporting is slated to make nine national television appearances this year — three on ESPN and six on FS1 as Major League Soccer enters the fifth year of its broadcast partnership with ESPN and FOX Sports.

The ESPN lineup includes Sporting’s inaugural meeting at FC Cincinnati on April 7 and a Heineken Rivalry Week showdown with Minnesota United FC on Aug. 22 at Children’s Mercy Park. FS1 will notably air three high-profile home games this spring as Sporting welcomes reigning Supporters’ Shield winner New York Red Bulls on April 14, defending MLS Cup champion Atlanta United FC on May 5 and Seattle Sounders FC on May 26. FS1 will also televise Sporting’s first visit to Audi Field against D.C. United on May 12.

Sporting will have just one weekend off between the start of the season and the Concacaf Gold Cup break in June, observing FIFA’s international break after visiting the Colorado Rapids on March 17. The club will host eight of their first 13 regular season matches during this time, rounded out by a three-game homestand in May as Vancouver (May 18), Seattle (May 26) and the LA Galaxy (May 29) come to Children’s Mercy Park.

A daunting month of June will require Sporting to navigate a four-game road swing, with two away matches on either end of the Concacaf Gold Cup break. The team visits Houston on June 1 and 2017 MLS Cup champion Toronto FC on June 7 before a trek to Columbus on June 23 and a rivalry renewal at Real Salt Lake six days later.

Sporting enters the heart of summer with a mouthwatering home tilt against LAFC on July 3 prior to hosting Chicago (July 6) and Dallas (July 20) on either side of a trip to Vancouver (July 13). The club will then visit both coasts on consecutive weekends, playing New York City FC in Yankee Stadium on July 26 and traveling to Seattle on Aug. 4.

Sporting will play four of five games at home between Aug. 10-31—including matchups against rivals RSL, Minnesota and Houston—but will hit the road for four of their last six. The final month of the regular season is highlighted by a Western Conference Championship rematch at Portland on Sept. 7, a trip to LA Galaxy on Sept. 15 and the Timbers’ return to Children’s Mercy Park on Sept. 29 in Sporting’s home finale.

The 2019 regular season concludes with Decision Day on Oct. 6 when Sporting travels to FC Dallas in one of 12 MLS matches that will begin simultaneously at 3 p.m. CT. The Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs will then begin Oct. 19-20 and culminate with MLS Cup 2019 on Nov. 10, with the top seven teams in each conference securing postseason berths.

Beyond the MLS regular season, Sporting will contend for cup titles on the domestic and international stage. Vermes’ men will open the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League in the Round of 16, hosting Deportivo Toluca FC in the first leg on Feb. 21 before traveling to Central Mexico for the decisive second leg on Feb. 28. Sporting will also aim to win their fourth Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in eight seasons, having hoisted the trophy in 2012, 2015 and 2017. MLS participants are slated to enter the 2019 U.S. Open Cup in June.

Sporting will visit Scottsdale, Arizona, for both legs of the 2019 preseason, presented by Children’s Mercy. The first phase will take place Jan. 13-31 and the second phase will run from Feb. 6-19, ending two days before their Concacaf Champions League curtain raiser versus Toluca. Sporting will announce their full preseason schedule in the coming days.

Sporting KC 2019 Regular Season Schedule
Home games in caps; kickoff times and FOX Sports KC television details subject to change.