The Kansas City Wizards and Power Partners, a partnership between the local NECA and IBEW organizations, will host a dribbling event Thursday night and Friday morning to kickoff the 2010 World Cup and the Summer of Soccer watch parties to be held in the Power & Light District downtown. The processional will be similar to the Olympic torch ceremony, signaling the beginning of downtown watch parties for every match of the 64-game World Cup. The event will help Kansas City soccer fans transition from club to country, showing their support for the Kansas City Wizards Thursday night and viewing the World Cup starting Friday morning.
The event will begin Thursday night at the conclusion of the Wizards match versus expansion side Philadelphia Union when goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen will kick a soccer ball out of CommunityAmerica Ballpark to start the dribbling chain. Nielsen’s kick will be broadcast live on the Wizards post-game show on KCWE 29.
The ceremony will conclude the next morning as soccer enthusiasts dribble from the Liberty Memorial to the Power & Light District before the World Cup opener between Mexico and South Africa at 9 a.m. CT. Power Partners will provide a state-of-the-art van with immense lighting displays to illuminate the path of the dribblers. The van is capable of lighting a five square block area.
Hundreds of dribblers will participate, with stops in both Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri parks before the ball travels down Main Street. Kansas City Wizards Manager and former World Cup participant Peter Vermes will be the final dribbler, shooting the ball into a goal set up in the “Living Room” area of the KC Live! block inside Power & Light at approximately 7:30 a.m. CT Friday morning. All 32 countries participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ will be represented during the processional.
Dribbling Timeline
• Thursday, June 10
o Stony Point Park – 9:45 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. Media are encouraged to do live shots and take photographs at Stony Point Park in Kansas City, KS.
o Pierson County Park – 10:30 p.m.
o Ruby Park – 10:45 p.m.
o Swope Park – 11:15 p.m.
o Loose Park – 11:45 p.m.
o JC Nichols Fountain – 11:55 p.m.
o Liberty Memorial – 12:05 a.m.
• Friday, June 11
o Liberty Memorial – 7:00 a.m.
1. The ball will travel from Liberty Memorial to the Power & Light District via the sidewalks along Main Street.
o Kansas City Power & Light District – 7:30 a.m.
1. The ball will arrive at the Power & Light District approximately 7:30 a.m. Media members are encouraged to gather in the KC Live! block for live shots and photo opportunities as Peter Vermes concludes the processional.
NOTE: To schedule a live shot or photo opportunity at any of the locations included in the event, please contact Dave Borchardt in the Kansas City Wizards media relations department at (816) 665-8442 or dborchardt@kcwizards.com.
The Kansas City Wizards, the Kansas City Power & Light District and the Kansas City / USA Host City Bid Committee announced last week that all 64 matches of this summer’s FIFA World Cup will be shown live at the 2010 Summer of Soccer in the Living Room at KC Live! The Summer of Soccer is expected to be one of the largest outdoor FIFA World Cup viewing parties in the United States.
Starting with the World Cup’s opening match on Friday, June 11 and running through the final match on July 11, the Summer of Soccer will feature every match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ shown live in the KC Live! “Living Room” at the Power & Light District in downtown Kansas City. The Living Room’s video screen is the largest of its type in the Kansas City metropolitan area, and the location is ideal for fans, with bars, restaurants, shops and many other surrounding amenities.
