Sporting Kansas City at Children's Mercy Park
One of the most venerable franchises in Major League Soccer is also one of the most successful. Since 2000, Sporting Kansas City has won two MLS Cup Championships, one MLS Supporters' Shield, and four U.S. Open Cup championships.
Sporting KC play out of Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, which opened as Livestrong Sporting Park in 2011 and seats 18,467 for soccer. Sporting KC is the only major professional sports team in the state of Kansas, and is the only major sports team to have played in both Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas.
Sporting Kansas City History
Sporting Kansas City has the honor of being one of the original franchises of Major League Soccer, first kicking off in 1996 as the Kansas City Wiz. A year later, the name changed to the Kansas City Wizards, which remained in use until the end of the 2010 season.
The Wiz/Wizards/Sporting KC were founded by Lamar Hunt, who owned the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL. Hunt also helped to create Major League Soccer, the American Football League, and the United Soccer Association of the '60s, and his Hunt Sports Group owned the Wizards until shortly before his death in 2006.
Kansas City's MLS franchise has been home to some of the greatest names in American and international soccer, including Alexi Lalas, Tony Meola, Preki, and Matt Besler. They have had a sustained period of achievement under former Wizards defender Peter Vermes, who has coached the team since 2009.
The Sporting KC era has been quite successful, with three U.S. Open Cup titles, the 2013 MLS Cup championship, and a resurgent team that finished first in the Western Conference standings in 2018. As the No. 1 seed in the West, Sporting KC beat Real Salt Lake in the conference semifinals before losing to the Portland Timbers, 3-2 on aggregate in the conference finals.
