Sporting KC announces 2018 MLS regular season schedule

Sporting Kansas City announced on Thursday the club’s 34-game schedule for the 2018 MLS regular season.

Single-game tickets for Sporting KC’s first 10 home matches at Children’s Mercy Park — beginning with the 2018 season opener versus New York City FC on March 4 and ending with a marquee matchup against defending MLS Cup champion Toronto FC on July 7 — will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. CT via SeatGeek.com. Sporting KC Season Ticket Members will have access to an exclusive single-game presale opportunity beginning Monday, Jan. 29 at 10 a.m. CT.

In addition, Sporting KC today made 125 season tickets available for purchase. Group ticket packages for all home matches are also on sale. For ticket inquiries and more information, call 888-4KC-GOAL.

• Click here to download Sporting KC's 2018 schedule

The 2018 MLS slate will see Sporting KC host 17 games at Children’s Mercy Park, including 10 Saturday matchups, six Sunday fixtures and one Friday contest. Each of the club’s three midweek matches in 2018 will take place on the road, marking the first time ever that Sporting KC’s home schedule has zero midweek games.

Sporting KC’s home slate will feature a variety of exciting themes and promotions, including three bobblehead nights as well as the return of Retro Night, Local Night, Sporting Salutes and more. The club’s full promotional schedule will be released in the near term. Additionally, supporters can mark their calendars for Feb. 28, when Sporting KC hosts its season kickoff party at Children’s Mercy Park.

As a member of the Western Conference, Sporting KC will meet each of the 11 Eastern Conference teams once over the course of the year. The remaining 23 matches will be played within the West, featuring home and away fixtures against 11 conference rivals. Minnesota United FC is the only club Sporting KC will face three times, as the Loons visit Kansas City on June 3 and Aug. 25 after hosting the matchup on May 20.

Sporting KC’s 17 away games will be played at 17 different venues, including their first road test on March 10 against the Chicago Fire. That match will follow the club’s highly anticipated curtain raiser against New York City FC on March 4 at Children’s Mercy Park, kicking off at 6:30 p.m. CT before a nationally televised audience on FS1.

2018 Home Opponents: Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew SC, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, Minnesota United FC (2), New York City FC, Orlando City SC, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

2018 Away Opponents: Atlanta United FC, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Minnesota United FC, LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Every Sporting KC regular season game will be televised live. FOX Sports Kansas City will serve as the club’s television home for the second straight year, airing all regionally broadcast matches with supplementary 30-minute pregame and postgame shows. Like in 2017, fans may also stream regional telecasts via the FOX Sports GO app or FOXSportsGO.com.

Sporting KC is set to make seven national television appearances in 2018 — five on FS1 and two on ESPN. FOX Sports and ESPN enter the fourth year of their broadcast partnership with MLS and will collectively air five matches at world-class Children’s Mercy Park, home to a 104-game sellout streak in MLS competition. FOX Sports and ESPN will also simulcast MLS contests on their Spanish language networks — ESPN Deportes and FOX Deportes, respectively — as well as the WatchESPN and FOX Sports GO digital platforms.

Sporting KC opens the 2018 campaign against a pair of 2017 playoff teams from the Eastern Conference, hosting Spanish superstar David Villa and NYCFC before visiting fellow World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger, reigning MLS Golden Boot champion Nemanja Nikolic and Chicago. Next on tap is a St. Patrick’s Day showdown with the San Jose Earthquakes at Children’s Mercy Park, followed by matchups with the Colorado Rapids and D.C. United to round out March.

The month of April is highlighted by consecutive national TV battles, as Sporting KC will travel to the LA Galaxy on April 8 (FS1) prior to welcoming two-time defending Western Conference champion Seattle Sounders FC on April 15 for ESPN’s lone broadcast at Children’s Mercy Park. On Wednesday, May 9, Sporting KC will hit the road to face Atlanta United FC — Major League Soccer’s second-highest scoring team in 2017 — in their first-ever trip to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

After back-to-back FS1 home games against Columbus Crew SC and Minnesota, Sporting KC will head west to meet the Portland Timbers on June 9 in their final match before MLS observes a weeklong break for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The team resumes its regular season campaign June 23 versus rivals Houston Dynamo at Children’s Mercy Park in a rematch of the 2017 Western Conference Knockout Round.

Sporting KC will play on the Fourth of July for the first time since 2012, doing so at rivals Real Salt Lake. The road tilt comes three days before reigning treble winner Toronto FC comes to Children’s Mercy Park for a mouthwatering interconference clash. Sporting KC will face Western Conference opponents exclusively during the month of August, headlined by a trip to the new Banc of California Stadium for an inaugural matchup with expansion side Los Angeles Football Club on Aug. 11.

A busy month of September will see Sporting KC play on five consecutive weekends, including visits to Seattle (Sept. 1), San Jose (Sept. 15) and Philadelphia (Sept. 23) as well as a home match against Orlando City SC on Sept. 8. After hosting Real Salt Lake on Sept. 30 and LA Galaxy on Oct. 6, Sporting KC will embark on a two-game road swing with stops at Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Oct. 17) and FC Dallas (Oct. 21).

The 2018 regular season concludes with Decision Day on Oct. 28 when Sporting KC welcomes LAFC to Children’s Mercy Park for the first time in one of 11 MLS matches that will begin simultaneously at 3:30 p.m. CT.

Outside of the MLS regular season, Sporting KC will also begin their defense of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the longest-running and most prestigious knockout-style tournament in U.S. Soccer. Sporting KC were crowned Open Cup champions in 2017, claiming their fourth tournament title overall and their third since 2012. MLS participants are slated to enter the 2018 Open Cup in early June.

Sporting KC will travel to Arizona for both legs of the 2018 preseason, presented by Children’s Mercy. The club will train in Scottsdale from Jan. 22 – Feb. 3 and then return to Tucson for the Mobile Mini Sun Cup from Feb. 9-25.

Sporting KC 2018 Regular Season Schedule

Home games in caps; kickoff times and FOX Sports KC TV details subject to change