Designated Player

Weekly Update: September 11, 2013

Team - Sporting KC vs Columbus Crew - September 7, 2013

Sporting KC on bye week
Flatlands Festival at Sporting Park
CONCACAF Champions League
Sporting Park Box Office shifts to gameday hours only
Orlando City wins USL PRO Championship
USMNT are headed to Brazil
Sporting Park to host U.S. MNT in World Cup Qualifier 
Peter Vermes to be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame on October 11
Jerome goes 90 for Haitian National Team
Bieler and Rosell earn weekly honors
Victory Project soccer clinic
Enter the KIA Total Fan Experience Sweepstakes
Sporting KC season tickets renewal campaign
2014 season tickets
Away tickets available now
Follow Sporting KC online

SPORTING KC ON BYE WEEK
Sporting Kansas City welcomes a bye this week and will return to MLS action on September 21 at Toronto FC. The club holds a share of first place in the Eastern Conference with 45 points through 28 matches.


Sporting KC defeated the Columbus Crew 3-0 in their most recent outing with goals from Claudio Bieler, Soony Saad, and C.J. Sapong. Bieler's 10 goals this season sets a club record for most by a Designated Player in a single season.

FLATLANDS FESTIVAL AT SPORTING PARK
Single-day tickets for the Flatlands Country Music Festival at Sporting Park from Sept. 12-14 are on sale to the general public, starting as low as $59 each. The new country music and camping festival, presented by Marquee Events and Sporting Club, will feature performances from several of the most popular artists in country music over three days.

Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Rodney Atkins, Thompson Square and Kevin Fowler will perform on Friday, Sept. 13. Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Kellie Pickler, Love and Theft, and JT Hodges will then take the stage on Sat., Sept. 14.


The 24,000 expected to be in attendance will have the opportunity to camp in nearby areas and enjoy all amenities associated with the state-of-the-art venue. For more information visit flatlandsfestival.com or call 800-493-3378.

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Sporting KC returns to CCL play on Tuesday, Sept. 17 as they host Real Esteli FC at Sporting Park in the group stage. Sporting KC currently sits in first place in Group 2 and will finish the group stage against CD Olimpia on October 23 at Sporting Park.


Sporting KC defeated Real Esteli FC, the lone representative from Nicaragua to qualify for the tournament, 2-0 on August 7 at Estadio Independencia.

Tuesday's match is set to kickoff at 7 p.m. CT with a limited number of tickets are still available for Saturday's match and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com.


SPORTING PARK BOX OFFICE SHIFTS TO GAMEDAY HOURS ONLY 


Beginning on Friday, the Sporting Park Box Offices will only operate on gamedays for the remainder of the 2013 season. Please note the following gameday box office hours:

  • East Box Office
    • 10 a.m. CT - Halftime
  • West Box Office
  • 3 hours prior to kickoff - Halftime


All tickets for upcoming Sporting KC home matches and additional events at Sporting Park may be purchased online at TicketMaster.com.

ORLANDO CITY WINS USL PRO CHAMPIONSHIP
Sporting Kansas City striker Dom Dwyer led the club's USL PRO affiliate Orlando City SC to a 7-4 victory over the Charlotte Eagles on Saturday. Dwyer tallied four goals in the match, notched an assist, and was named the USL PRO Championship MVP.


Sporting KC midfielder Christian Duke played 69 minutes for Orlando City, who caputred their second USL PRO championship in the last three years. Dwyer, Duke and Jon Kempin returned to Sporting KC on this week and will be available for the remainder of the 2013 MLS season.

USMNT ARE HEADED TO BRAZIL
The U.S. Men's National Team booked their spot to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil on Tuesday. The USMNT defeated Mexico 2-0 at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Sporting KC midfielder Graham Zusi appeared as a second half substitute in the triumph while defender Matt Besler was unavailable for selection due to yellow card accumulation.


SPORTING PARK TO HOST U.S. MNT IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER 


Sporting Park will host the U.S. Men's National Team on Oct. 11 in the team's final home qualifying match for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in front of a sold out crowd. The U.S. MNT returns to Sporting Park to play Jamaica, live on ESPN, WatchESPN and UniMas at 5:30 p.m. CT.

PETER VERMES TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE NATIONAL SOCCER HALL OF FAME ON OCTOBER 11
U.S. Soccer announced that the former U.S. Men's National Team forwards Peter Vermes and Joe-Max Moore will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame on Oct. 11 in a ceremony taking place at 2 p.m. CT on the Sprint Plaza at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.


JEROME GOES 90 FOR HAITIAN NATIONAL TEAM 


Sporting Kansas City's Mechack Jerome played the full match for the Haitian National Team in an international friendly falling 4-1 to South Korea on Friday in Seoul, South Korea. Peterson Joseph traveled with the team but did not appear in the match.

BIELER AND ROSELL EARNED WEEKLY HONORS.
Claudio Bieler and Oriol Rosell were both named to the MLS Team of the Week.


Bieler, who was also voted a Top 3 Performer of the Week, scored his 10th goal of the season and added his fourth assist in Sporting KC's convincing 3-0 win vs Columbus on Saturday. The Designated Player is the fourth player in club history to score 10 or more goals in their first season with the club (Preki and Digital Takawira in 1996, Miklos Molnar in 2000).
Rosell notched his second assist of the season on C.J. Sapong's second half goal and completed 83.6% of his 55 passes. The midfielder currently leads all Sporting KC field players in games started (27) and minutes played (2331). Overall, Rosell has had an impressive season in which he leads MLS with 1,234 successful passes and 116 interceptions this season.

VICTORY PROJECT SOCCER CLINIC
Sporting Kansas City held their inaugural Victory Project soccer clinic on Monday at Sporting Park. Nearly 100 local youth attended the clinic which featured instruction from Sporting Kansas City players and staff. View a picture slideshow from the event here.


ENTER THE KIA TOTAL FAN EXPERIENCE SWEEPSTAKES 


Sporting KC and Kia are teaming up for the Kia Total Fan Experience sweepstakes throughout the month of September to offer a prize package that features two (2) tickets inside a Sporting Park Suite for Sporting Kansas City's MLS regular season home finale on Oct. 18 against D.C. United, as well as a pre-game on-field experience and an autographed Sporting KC jersey. Enter online at 
SportingKC.com/Kia
 before the sweepstakes ends at 11:59 p.m. CT on September 30. The winner will be randomly selected on Oct. 1.




SPORTING KC SEASON TICKETS RENEWAL CAMPAIGN


Sporting KC supporters can renew their season tickets online through Sporting Kansas City Account Manager or by contacting their Client Services Executive directly. The last day to guarantee a Season Ticket Member's current seat location is Friday, September 27.
2014 SEASON TICKETS 


Sporting Kansas City is now taking deposits for new season ticket members for the 2014 season at state-of-the-art Sporting Park. The non-refundable deposits are $150 per seat for premium areas and $50 per seat for all other sections and provide fans with priority position for securing full season tickets in 2014. Additionally, all fans on the Sporting Kansas City season ticket member waiting list will be given access to pre-sale opportunities for select special events at Sporting Park (subject to availability). For more information, click here or stop by the Sporting KC sales tables on Saturday at Sporting Park -- conveniently located on the concourse near the Budweiser Corner or by the East Stand.

AWAY TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW
Reserve your complimentary away ticket to Sporting Kansas City's match on October 5 at the Columbus Crew, October 9 at the Houston Dynamo and October 26 at the Philadelphia Union by clicking here.


FOLLOW SPORTING KC ONLINE 


Sporting Kansas City fans looking to keep up with the club on the worldwide web now have a place to go. The social media page on 
SportingKC.com
 features Twitter account information for the club, its players as well as many staff members. Additionally, fans may take advantage of the 
Media Recap page
 for all the latest independent news coverage available online.

Also, Sporting Kansas City's 2013 media guide is now available online and fans can find all the latest information for Sporting Kansas City matches at SportingKC.com/GameOn.