New Stadium A Boon For Sporting Kansas City, Early Returns Suggest

Way back during the MLS Cup, rumors were circulating that Barcelona may be the team to be paired up against the MLS All-Stars this year and that the game was likely to be played in the new Sporting Kansas City stadium. As The Daily Soccer Fix’s Steve Davis reports, this is starting to look more and more like it could come to fruition. The expense of bringing in Barcelona for a one-stop tour appears to have been the biggest stumbling block. Now that they have announced plans for a full North American tour, that’s no loner an issue.

The track record for soccer specific stadiums in MLS is checkered, at best. For every Home Depot Center, there’s a Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. For every Red Bull Arena, there’s a Pizza Hut Park. In the case of Sporting Kansas City, the early returns at least suggest their new stadium could be a turning point for a franchise that has perpetually been among the worst drawing and lowest profile in the league.

Sporting KC President Rob Heineman said the team is already approaching 9,000 season tickets for the 2011 season and sponsors for the shirt and stadium. Playing in a minor league baseball stadium each of the past two years, SKC has drawn an average of just over 10,000 and has been among the bottom two of attendance for the each of the past six seasons. They’ve also never had a shirt sponsor, nor played in a stadium in which they get a share of the naming rights.