MLS Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Kansas City Weekly Update

Published on November 16, 2011 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


LIVESTRONG SPORTING PARK TO HOST OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS

U.S. Soccer and the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today that LIVE STRONG Sporting Park will host the 2012 Men's Olympic qualifying tournament semifinals and final. The eight-nation tournament begins March 22, 2012 and will arrive in Kansas City with the decisive semifinals on March 31st before concluding with the championship match on April 2nd.

The winners of each semifinal match at LIVE STRONG Sporting Park on March 31st will advance to the 2012 Olympic Games in London next summer to represent CONCACAF and will meet in the championship match on April 2nd at LIVE STRONG Sporting Park.

Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members will have access to an exclusive pre-sale once tickets are made available for the matches.

VERMES FINISHES THIRD IN VOTING FOR 2011 MLS COACH OF THE YEAR

Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes finished third in the voting for the 2011 MLS Coach of the Year award, MLS announced on Monday.

Bruce Arena of the LA Galaxy won the award for the second time in the last three seasons. Arena was followed in the voting by Seattle Sounders FC manager Sigi Schmid.

After navigating through a ten game road trip before the completion of LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, Vermes guided Sporting Kansas City up the table as the club lost just three of their last 26 regular season games. After toppling the defending MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids, Sporting Kansas City eventually fell to the Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Championship.

NIELSEN, ARNAUD TO PARTICIPATE IN HOLIDAY LIGHTING CEREMONIES

Jimmy Nielsen and Davy Arnaud will each take part in local holiday lighting ceremonies this week on both sides of the state line.

Nielsen and Fox 4 meteorologist Mike Thompson will help kick off The Salvation Army's 2011 Christmas Campaign at City Lights on Thursday, November 17 at 6 pm at Barney Allis Plaza, 12th and Wyandotte.

City Lights, the annual downtown holiday lighting ceremony, is also the official kickoff of The Salvation Army's 2011 Christmas Campaign . The City Lights display encompasses Barney Allis Plaza and several nearby buildings including the Kansas City Marriott Downtown, whichfeatures spectacular computer-generated holiday images across its 22-story façade.

City Lights, sponsored by The Salvation Army, the Kansas City Marriott Downtown, the Downtown Council and Fox 4 TV, is the official kickoff of The Salvation Army's annual Christmas Campaign, which raises money to fund SalvationArmy programs year-round.

Arnaud will be in attendance at the Mayor's Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony in downtown Kansas City, Kansas on Friday. The 7th annual event will start at 2:00 p.m. CT with the neighborhood tree contest judging and will end with the traditional tree lighting ceremony at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Arnaud, who is expected to arrive at 5:30 p.m. CT, will be among several special guests in attendance for the festivities,which include visits from Santa Clause, goody bags for children, movies andpopcorn in the Commission Chambers, crafts by the KCK Public Library, a hot air balloon display, performances by the Piper High School Marching Band and Dance Team, Gateway high steppers, Ballet Folkloric, Kansas City, Kansas Community Orchestra and jugglers and magicians from Happy Faces Entertainment.

U.S. SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY UNDERWAY

The 2011-2012 edition of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy season is underway for Sporting Kansas City's U-18s and U-16s. The teams traveled to Austin, Texas to compe te against Lonestar SC Academy and Classics Elite of San Antonio. Both teams fell to Lonestar SC Academy on Saturday but regained form to defeat Classics Elite of San Antonio with four goals for each team.

The U-18s and U-16s will take on the Dallas Texans at the Sporting Club Training Center in Swope Park this Friday. The U-18s will kick off at 4:30 p.m. CT, followed by the U-16s at 7 p.m. Both sides will travel to Bradenton, Fla. in early December to participate in the Development AcademyShowcase against the likes of D.C. United, Baltimore Bays and Oakwood Soccer Club.

ESPINOZA REPRESENTS HONDURAS IN 2-0 WIN OVER SERBIA

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza made his 23 rd appearance for the Honduran national team in their 2-0 win over Serbia at El Olimpico stadium in San Pedro Sula Honduras on Monday. Espnioza has scored three goals for the senior team, currently ranked 57 th by FIFA, since his debut in 2009 and represented Los Catrachos in their run to the semifinals at this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup.

SPORTING KC TEAMS UP WITH DISNEY FOR 2012 PRESEASON

Sporting Kansas City will escape the cold of Kansas City from Feb. 24-March 3 to participate in the 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort.

Sporting will face other MLS teams, including Toronto FC, and Orlando City, the reigning United Soccer League champion. The Disney Pro Soccer Classic field has been expanded from five teams a year ago to eight teams in 2012. The remaining teams will be announced in the coming weeks. Mickey Mouse paid a visit to Kansas City, his birthplace, and made the rounds to local TV stations and even trained with Sporting.

C.J. SAPONG WINS 2011 MLS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Sporting Kansas City forward C.J. Sapong has been named the 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year . Sapong appeared in all 34 of Sporting's regular season games and helped the club to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

The 22-year old forward scored five goals, tied with Houston Dynamo forward Will Bruin for the most in among rookies this season, and Sapong added five assists in his first professional season. Sapong, a native of Manassas, Virginia, becomes the first Kansas City player to win MLS Rookie of the Year honors. Sapong, selected with the tenth overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft out of James Madison University, earned immediate playing time in his first season, and remained a staple of Sporting KC's attack. He was the only Sporting player to appear in every game, and made 22 starts in his inaugural campaign. The former Colonial Athletic Association player of the year also finished second on his team in assists (5), and shots on goal (25). Sapong joins the likes of Clint Dempsey, Carlos Bocanegra and Ben Olsen as recipients of the award.

LIVESTRONG SPORTING PARK TO BE RECREATED AT LEGOLAND

The home of Sporting Kansas City will be built at the new LEGOLAND Discovery Center following an overwhelming public vote. LIVE STRONG Sporting Park topped the list of the ten landmarks to be built on a smaller scale at LEGOLAND, which will open this spring at Crown Center. The miniature stadium will reside in the Miniland section of the park and will be joined by scaled versions of the likes of the Kansas Speedway, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and seven other notable Kansas City landmarks.

A public vote on the Discovery Center's Facebook page decided the landmarks to be featured at the Miniland. LIVE STRONG Sporting Park received the most votes, nudging the Sprint Center and the River Market out of the competition. "We are honored that LIVE STRONG Sporting Park will be built into the Miniland project," Sporting Club CEO Robb Heineman said. "There are many remarkable landmarks in Kansas City, and to be thought of after opening this year is a great tribute."

2011 BRINGS UNPRECEDENTED OFF-FIELD SUCCESS FOR SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Although Sporting Kansas City did not bring the MLS Cup home to Kansas City, there are plenty of positives to draw from the inaugural season at LIVE STRONG Sporting Park. In terms of home game attendance, Sporting ranked in the top half of all teams in Major League Soccer after seeing an 84% increase from the 2010 season. Contributing to the improved attendance figures were eleven sold-out crowds throughout 2011. Additionally, marked increases in both television ratings for Sporting Kansas City broadcasts and merchandise sales were seen in the historic 2011 season. TV ratings on KSMO increased by more than 100%, while merchandise sales grew by 475%, bringingSporting Kansas City to rank 9th in MLS. Sporting Kansas City ranked 2nd inmerchandise sales for 2011 at Dick's Sporting Goods, the official sporting goods partner of Major League Soccer.

2012 MLS SUPERDRAFT TO BE HELD IN KANSAS CITY ON JANUARY 12

For the eighth consecutive year, the MLS SuperDraft will be held in conjunction with the National Soccer CoachesAssociation of America (NSCAA) Convention, and will take place on Thursday, January 12, at the Kansas City Convention Center, in Kansas City, Mo. The first round of the SuperDraft will be broadcast live on ESPN2beginning at 11:00 AM CT.

Billed as "The World's Largest Annual Gathering of Soccer Coaches," each year the NSCAA Convention draws approximately 4,000 coaches from our 30,000-plus members, and nearly 10,000attendees over five days.

This year, the MLS SuperDraft will include two rounds and 38 overall selections, with the Montreal Impact selecting first overall. Clubs that did not qualify for the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs, in reverse order of regular season finish, hold the next eight selections. Theremaining 10 positions currently belong to clubs that were eliminated in the same round of the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs, in reverse order of regular seasonfinish.

A four-round Supplemental Draft will be held via conference call on Tuesday, January 17th.

2012 SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Season tickets for the 2012 Sporting Kansas City season at LIVE STRONG Sporting Park are now on sale .

Fans ages 21 and older now have the option to purchase season tickets in the Budweiser Corner at LIVE STRONG Sporting Park, an all-inclusive terrace area which provides stadium-style food options and draft beer choices.

Another new seating package for 2012 is the Sporting Family Plan. Offered exclusively in the Providence Sporting Zone, the Sporting Family Plan gives fans the option to purchase two season tickets and receive two more for children ages 12 and under for free. Season tickets in the Providence Sporting Zone start at $380 for the entire 2012 season.

Check out the Sporting Kansas City Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from November 16, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central