Sporting Kansas City will open the team’s state-of-the-art new stadium against the Chicago Fire on Thursday, June 9th, 2011. Major League Soccer unveiled details of home openers for all 18 clubs on Monday, highlighted by the announcement of First Kick in KC Soccer Stadium, the team’s $180 million home ground currently under construction in Kansas City, Kansas.
Sporting Kansas City 2011 season ticket packages begin at $14 per seat and are currently available as part of a holiday ticket special with no payment due until February. CLICK HERE to take advantage of the holiday special. Interested individuals can purchase their 2011 season tickets and tour the KC Soccer Stadium at www.SportingKC.com/VirtualVenue or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
While match time and broadcast information for the home opener will be announced at a later date, Kansas City will play their first game of the 2011 MLS season at Chivas USA at 9:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 19th at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Sporting will then travel to Chicago for the Fire’s home opener the following weekend on Saturday, March 26th at 3 p.m. CT at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois.
The Fire’s return trip to Kansas City on June 9th will mark a momentous date in Kansas City soccer history as the city’s first professional soccer-specific stadium opens 18 months after breaking ground on the site near The Legends in Wyandotte County.
The stadium will seat 18,500 soccer spectators and features a canopy roof that will cover every seating section and includes a 2,016-square-foot HD video board on the south end and a 550-square-foot HD video board on the north end. The supporters section has a capacity of 2,000 seats and is complemented by an innovative Supporters Club, the first of its kind in MLS, and one of five club spaces throughout the building.
Sporting Kansas City and Major League Soccer enter their 16th season in 2011, which will feature two new expansion teams in the Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers, as every club plays each team twice in a 34-game season.
The full 2011 MLS schedule will be released by early February.
2011 SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 19th: Sporting Kansas City at Chivas USA at 9:30 p.m. CT -- 2011 Season Opener
Saturday, March 26th: Sporting Kansas City at Chicago Fire at 3:00 p.m. CT
Thursday, June 9th: Sporting Kansas City vs. Chicago Fire (time TBD) – 2011 Home Opener in KC Soccer Stadium
Tuesday, June 14th: 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup™ doubleheader at KC Soccer Stadium (time TBD)
