#TBT The US Trip to KC in 2001

With the announcement today that the US U23 team will be coming to Kansas City as part of Olympic qualifying ahead of the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, I thought I'd take a look bad at the second time the US team has played in KC. Back in 2001, the USA made their first trip to Kansas City in almost 33 years on April 25th of that year. The last time the US had been in KC had been for a World Cup qualifier against Bermuda that saw the US win 6-2.

In 2001 it was again a World Cup qualifier, but this time against Costa Rica at Arrowhead Stadium. A crowd of 37,219, the largest soccer crowd in Kansas City history (a record that would last until the KC Wizards played Manchester United in 2010) was on hand to watch the US play. At the time it was the largest midweek qualifier crowd in US Soccer history, and looking back on it now a look into what type of soccer community there could really be in KC.

The US had the better of the possession in the early going of the game, but couldn't really capitalize on it with an early goal. The best early chance for the US came in the 16th minute when Claudio Renya played a nice ball over the top to Josh Wolff who brought the ball down nicely and chipped it over the Costa Rican goalkeeper only to have it cleared off the line by the defense before it could fully cross the line. Wolff was proving to be a menace for the Costa Rican defense throughout the half with his pace. Still the US went into the break level at 0-0.

The second half saw the US continue to be the better side, creating the better opportunities, but Costa Rica started to find some space of their own. Kasey Keller in the US net was called on to make some decent saves. Finally in the 70th minute the US broke through. A corner by Jeff Agoos was only partially cleared back to Agoos who played the ball immediately back into the box towards Clint Mathis. Mathis won the ball off his defender, but as the two were coming down the ball hit off the arm of Mathis right into the path of Wolff, who with an open goal, poked it into the net to give the US the lead. The Costa Ricans were shouting for a hand ball, but no call came. Now chasing the game, Costa Rica were the ones that pushed the game over the final 20 minutes, but the US defense held firm and were able to secure all three points in the third straight game to kick off the Hex as the US would go on to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. The loss would actually be Costa Rica's only loss of the Hex as they would win it with 23 points compared to the 17 points that the US and Mexico both finished with.

Here's the USA's lineup for the game, and highlights are further down.

Keller
Regis
Agoos
Llamosa
Cherundolo
Armas
Stewart
Reyna (c) (Berhalter)
Sanneh
Mathis (Lewis)
Wolff-1 (Razov)

Mexico vs Paraguay Friendly Confirmed for Arrowhead

The friendly between Mexico and Paraguay to be played in Kansas City has been confirmed today by the Mexican Federation. The game will take place on Tuesday, March 31st with an 8pm Central Time kick off at Arrowhead. The game will be the second of two friendlies that Mexico is playing in the United States during that international break. The first is three days earlier in Los Angeles against Ecuador.

This will be the first standalone international match between two countries that are not the United States to take place in Kansas City. The other international matches not involving the US have been coupled with the Gold Cup or with Olympic qualifying. It's also the first time that the full Mexican national team will play in Kansas City.

From my personal experience, fans from all over the Midwest will travel to Kansas City for this game. It being a mid-week game will cut down some on the traveling crowd, but it should still be a decently sized crowd for the game. Back in 2009, Arrowhead hosted a friendly between Club America and Chivas Guadalajara that game drew over 26,000 people on a Wednesday night.

The attendance for that friendly is probably one of the main reasons why that this game is going to be held at Arrowhead and not across town at the city's Soccer Specific Stadium, Sporting Park. With a seating capacity of just 18,467, putting the game at the larger stadium makes sense for all parties involved. I'd expect at least north of 30,000 for this game, possibly more if it is promoted well.

8th Home Game Attendance

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

The Wizards had another sellout at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park tonight in their win over Real Salt Lake. That sellout tonight does a few things for Sporting KC's attendance this year. The first, is that KC could have an announced attendance of 0 for each game for the rest of the season and the first 8 games (average 8,400 if 0 the rest of the way) this year would out draw the average of the 1999 season of 8,183. The other thing that this sellout did, is it put the total attendance so far this season at 142,802, which is more than the 1998 season (137,189), 1999 season (130,924), and the 2001 season (142,402).

Here's the attendance for the 8th home game through the years. And take a look at the list for the last home game.

1996 - Arrowhead
17,921
Average - 13,919

1997 - Arrowhead
10,124
Average - 8,861

1998 - Arrowhead
5,304
Average - 7,633

1999 - Arrowhead
6,190
Average - 8,713

2000 - Arrowhead
5,675
Average - 9,545

2001 - Arrowhead
8,031
Average - 11,131

2002 - Arrowhead
19,641
Average - 12,312

2003 - Arrowhead
16,349
Average - 15,273

2004 - Arrowhead
26,223
Average - 16,654

2005 - Arrowhead
5,519
Average - 9,615

2006 - Arrowhead
21,936
Average - 12,043

2007 - Arrowhead
11,766
Average - 9,512

2008 - Community America Ballpark
10,385
Average - 9,596

2009 - Community America Ballpark
10,385
Average - 9,789

2010 - Community America Ballpark
10,288
Average - 10,005

2011 - LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
18,467
Average - 17,850

Some low points this week in the 98, 99, 00, and 05 seasons, with only one of those even cracking 6,000. Here are the rankings of the seasons currently with their movement from last week and the amount their average went up or down.

1. 2011 - 17,850 (-) (+432)
2. 2004 - 16,654 (-) (+1,367)
3. 2003 - 15,273 (-) (+154)
4. 1996 - 13,919 (-) (+572)
5. 2002 - 12,312 (+1) (1,047)
6. 2006 - 12,043 (+1) (1,414)
7. 2001 - 11,131 (-2) (-443)
8. 2010 - 10,005 (+2) (+41)
9. 2009 - 9,789 (+2) (+86)
10. 2005 - 9,615 (-2) (-585)
11. 2008 - 9,596 (+1) (+113)
12. 2000 - 9,545 (-3) (-553)
13. 2007 - 9,512 (-) (+322)
14. 1997 - 8,861 (+1) (+180)
15. 1999 - 8,713 (-1) (-361)
16. 1998 - 7,633 (-) (-333)

Some big drops this week with the 2005 and 2000 season all losing over 500 off their average from last week. The 2011 season's lead decreases, but that shouldn't be a problem in the end as they're still averaging over 1,000 more than the 2004 season at this point.

Sporting to Start Season on the Road

Robb Heineman made me happy about one thing in the past few days. During an interview with MLSsoccer.com, Heineman said that KC will play all their home games at the team's new stadium out at the Legends. That means no games in neutral venues or games at Arrowhead next season. Earlier this year there had been hints from Heineman and rumors that Sporting would play at least one game in a neutral venue for the 2011 season.

This was a horrible idea in my mind, in a season where you're opening your new stadium, to play one of your home games in a neutral site. The idea of playing a game at Arrowhead, while not ideal was certainly an idea that I was more open to than neutral site venues. I figured that Sporting could use Arrowhead similar to the way that the Union used Lincoln Financial this past season. It would have given them a chance to at least have a game at home to give fans something before the stadium opened. But I understand why they wouldn't do that, even a really well attended game would look bad in a stadium that seats close to 80,000.

Instead the first time KC will see a competitive game live featuring Sporting KC will be June 9th when the stadium opens with a national television audience on ESPN. Heineman made that announcement as part of his introduction of the Sporting KC brand last night. Certainly a great way to open the team's new stadium. I think a lot of fans will have some pent up energy for some live soccer by that point so the crowd should be really into the game.

Heineman Offers Clarification

Wizards President, Robb Heineman responded to comments he made yesterday at the season ticket holder stadium tour today on Bigsoccer. He responded to the comments about where the Wizards will play to start next season, the possibility of playing at Arrowhead, as well as neutral site "home" games.

My biggest issue was the neutral site league games, which Heineman addresses first, and even says is likely not a good idea. He says that the Wizards are entertaining the idea of "a" netural site "home" game in a location where the team can assure a "pro-Wizards/pro-Bravo crowd. AKA, they're looking for a location in the southwest (as Heineman mentions), somewhere where they can pull in Mexican fans who want to see Wizards designated player, Omar Bravo play. Any game in a neutral site in Arizona (or anywhere in the southwest) isn't going to be a "pro-Wizards" crowd, it's going to be a "pro-Bravo" crowd that is only cheering for the Wizards because that's who Bravo is playing for. How many of those pro-Blanco fans are still coming to Fire games, even in Chicago now that he's not there?

If the team does play a neutral site home game, Heineman says the team will work to put together a travel package for fans who want to travel, or compensate season ticket holders who don't want to do that. That's a smart move at least in offering both options for season ticket holders instead of holding them to it or not offering the opportunity to possibly travel if people want.

Heineman reiterates that the team will not play a game at CAB next season, because he says much of the equipment on site is leased annually, so the team won't sign leases for an entire year when they would only be using the stadium for a few games. He does say that the team has not ruled out the possibility of playing at Arrowhead some next year. Heineman mentions that in his perfect world the team would play 3 games at Arrowhead to help break up the road trip, similar to the situation this year for Philadelphia where they played 2 games at Lincoln Financial Field while PPL Park was finished. For me this is the best option of the three options, where none of those options are ideal. But I'd rather have a few games at home before the stadium opens just to help provide some help competitively to the team's record.

As I said yesterday, the Galaxy had a horrible run when they opened the Home Depot Center, going 0-4-4, while the Chicago Fire did better, going 2-3-4, picking up 10 points. And going back to my above example with the expansion Union, who went 2-7-1 before PPL Park opened (1-7 on the road). So maybe I overreacted a bit last night, but I don't like the idea of an extended road trip, it gets tiring on players having to travel every single week, and the Wizards have never been a good road team, they only have two seasons in their history where they have a winning record on the road, going 9-7 in 1997 and 5-3-8 2000. Over their history the Wizards average 15 points on the road a season, on the road for a long stretch I struggle to see the Wizards hitting that mark.

I still struggle to see the Wizards making the playoffs in the 2011 season, maybe I'm just pessimistic, but unlike 2003 and 2006 with LA and Chicago, less than half the teams in the league will make the playoffs in 2011, and with a traditionally poor road team playing a long stretch away from home it's hard to see the Wizards getting enough points early on in the season. But I do appreciate Heineman stepping up to clarify his comments from yesterday.

United Roster Announced

A day after Manchester United named a few players on their US tour roster, they named the full 22 man roster that will travel to the United States. One name from the pre-release is no longer on the roster, as Gary Neville has picked up an injury and will miss the tour. As for the full roster, there are going to be no World Cup stars in KC for the game against the Wizards. The closest people will get is Nani, who was named to Portugal's roster but had to pull out due to injury. There are plenty of regular first team players on the team, but no Wayne Rooney, no Nemanja Vidic, no Patrice Evra, no other players that traveled to the World Cup. Mexican international, Javier Hernandez is on the roster, but will not join the team until after the team has played in KC. United will arrive in the US on Monday, just under 2 weeks before they play KC at Arrowhead Stadium.

United Game Official

The news today wasn't that surprising to followers of this blog, but today MLS and the Wizards confirmed that the Wizards would be playing Manchester United at Arrowhead Stadium on July 25th. Along with playing the Wizards, United will play Celtic in Toronto at the Rogers Center, the Union Lincoln Financial Field, and the MLS All Stars at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Wizards season ticket holders get first stab at getting their tickets for the game and will be able to use special game tickets for the game. The rest of the tickets range in price from $30 to $200 on May 15th.

As I've said previously, I love the fact that the Wizards got this game. It's been tough for the Wizards to get games like this to come to KC. I mean KC has only have a few friendlies against teams from outside the US in KC, and none of them were from England or even Europe (the two friendlies were against Mexican clubs). It's going to be a great time.

Check out Wizards President Robb Heineman, who broke the news over the weekend, speak about the game.

Heineman Confirms United Date in KC

Wizards president Robb Heineman has confirmed the date of the game in Kansas City in Manchester United. Tonight on Bigsoccer, Robb posted that the game against Manchester United will be on July 25th, likely at Arrowhead Stadium, although that hasn't been announced officially yet. (Where else would you have it? CAB?) With the Wizards set to play Chicago on July 24th in Chicago, that game seems likely to be moved to accommodate this friendly against the "world's richest club." We'll have to wait for the official word on that move though, but it makes no sense to have the league game one day and then a friendly the next in a completely different city.

Friendly at Arrowhead

This entire summer there have been big name clubs from around the world playing in the United States as part of their preseason. Unfortunately none of those games have been in KC. That looks like it will be changing in September. Rumor had been around that there would be a friendly at Arrowhead between Club America and Chivas de Guadalajara in September. Checking Ticketmaster today, the friendly is there on the site, although tickets for the game do not go on sale until tomorrow. So if you ever wanted to see two of the biggest clubs in Mexico play each other in a "friendly" here is your chance.

UPDATE: The Wizards have announced that the game will also double as Special Game B for Wizards season ticket holders. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I love the fact that we're getting some major international club teams in to play a friendly, but I wish they were playing the Wizards. I'm happy to see the game cause I love watching soccer, but I'd rather my Wizards season tickets be used for games involving the Wizards, they're the team I'd rather see play (even though they are playing horrible right now).

You can buy tickets for the game through the Wizards by calling them 913.387.3400, if you (like me) avoid Ticketmaster at all costs.

Arrowhead Still in Running for World Cup

The USSF once again cut down the list of potential sites to host the World Cup should the US win the 2018 or the 2022 bid to host. Kansas City and Arrowhead Stadium have made the cut for the next round along with 26 other cities. The committee will name 18 sites for the final bid that the US will put forward. Also still on the list, is the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. The bid has to be in to FIFA by May of 2010. Hopefully by that time KC is still on the list and we can hopefully look forward to World Cup soccer in Kansas City.

I'm told that the bid put forth for by the committee in KC is most definitely a serious one and are willing to make the changes needed to Arrowhead to make sure that it meets FIFA requirements. So there's hope for those that are skeptical because of the size of the field at Arrowhead. Also, due to the large parking lot at the Truman Sports Complex, it gives plenty of space for Fanfest stuff. If you haven't already signed the petition, do so. I remember going to a game in Dallas in 1994 and it was amazing, I would love to have that atmosphere here in KC when the World Cup returns.

Arrowhead Still in World Cup Running

The list of stadium candidates for the USA's 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid has been narrowed down from 58 to 45. Among those stadiums that are still in the running, is Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium and St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome. The USSF will now work with the cities and will hope to have their list set by May of 2010.

Local Stadiums Express Interest in Hosting World Cup

Earlier this month I posted about how Arrowhead Stadium and other regional stadiums were on the original 70 stadium list for the US' World Cup bid in 2018 and 2022. All 3 stadiums that were on the list from the state of Missouri have expressed an interest in hosting the World Cup. Arrowhead, Faurot Field and the Edward Jones Dome all expressed interest in hosting games. Only 12 stadiums took their name off the list. One, Memorial Stadium in Lincoln was the only regional stadium not to express interest. Most of these stadiums don't meet FIFA minimum requirements, but it's good to at least see the interest in hosting the World Cup.

Local and Regional Sites Contacted by USSF about World Cup bid

Arrowhead Stadium and other stadium sites around the Kansas City region have been named on the short list of 70 sites that were contacted by the US Soccer Federation about the USA's upcoming bids for the 2018 and the 2022 World Cup. Included with Arrowhead was Faurot Field in Columbia, MO, the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, IA, and Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. The letter that each of the sites received outlines the USA's bid along with the criteria for venue selection. Arrowhead was on the short list back in 1994 to try and host some of the games, but that did not happen. Sadly I don't see any of the 5 sites I named above being selected to host a World Cup game should the US get the bid. All the stadiums would need changes made to increase the field size so that a FIFA sized field could fit in the stadium. If I remember correctly, back in 1994, they were going to bring in a platform at Arrowhead that would actually have covered a few rows of seats to make the field wide enough for the World Cup. I don't see them doing that this time. Officials for the cities and venues have until April 17th to respond to the USSF with their interest.

Beckham Game at Arrowhead (Official)

Very early Wednesday morning I posted that the Wizards game against LA would be moved to Arrowhead. Today the announcement has been made official by the team. The game has been officially moved to 4 pm with the Chiefs game against the Raiders the next day.

Individual game tickets for the game have not gone on sale yet, but people can get tickets to the game through a special ticket offer. By buying a 3 game flex pass and putting down a deposit for season tickets next year, you get a "free" ticket in the lower bowl to the game against Beckham and the Galaxy.

Beckham Game at Arrowhead (Proof)

Thanks to WildcatWizard on bigsoccer for bringing this to my attention. On the Wizards schedule on their website, they now have a symbol next to the game at home against the Galaxy. At the bottom of the schedule it says that the symbol means that the game will be played at Arrowhead. The game has also been moved to 4 pm on Saturday, up from the 7 pm start time that is listed on the schedule, this has likely been done to give Arrowhead staff more time to get the field ready for the Chiefs game the next day. It shouldn't come as that much of a surprise to fans though, I think most expected this all season. Props also go out to the guy who left a comment on my speculation post after the announcement of the St. Louis Night for the game calling the game time before that was announced.

I've taken a screen shot of the schedule right now in case it is changed between now and the time you read this post. For a larger picture, click on the image.

Beckham Game at Arrowhead (Speculation)

I have no proof of this, but the guess all season has been that the game between KC and the LA Galaxy on September 13th would be moved to the Wizards former home of Arrowhead Stadium. There was speculation back in February that the Wizards could play two games at Arrowhead this season. And while nothing has been officially announced, it seems like Arrowhead is going to be the site.

Why, you may ask? It's because of some of the advertising that the Wizards are doing for this game against LA. The game is being advertised as "St. Louis Night" (at the end of this article). Now Community America Ballpark seats only 10,385 people for the Wizards games. The Wizards got 32,867 people at last years Beckham game that was Beckhamless. If the team wasn't going to be moving the game to a larger venue, why would they spend the time and resources advertising a "St. Louis Night" for a game that you know will sell out CAB without it? The Wizards have sold out CAB 3 times this season and to think that the draw of Beckham alone wouldn't be enough to sell just over 10,000 tickets in KC alone then you need your head checked. There is just no reason to advertise this game like this to the other side of the state unless you plan to move it to a larger venue.

All signs seem to be pointing at the game being played at Arrowhead. The only hiccup is the fact that the Chiefs play the next day at noon, but Arrowhead staff have done quick changes in the past, they can do it again.

Onalfo on The 2 G's

This morning, Wizards coach, Curt Onalfo was on The 2 G's radio show on the Champions Soccer Radio Network. In an interview with hosts, Graham Bell and Peter Brown, Onalfo spoke on multiple topics, from the Wizards to his time with the US Men's National team. There was some interesting information that came out during the show. Here are some highlights.

- Sealy and Trujillo are fighting for a starting spot with Lopez. Trujillo looks like he'll get the start this weekend. (Does this mean Lopez is starting Saturday?)
- Arnaud is actually ahead dof schedule rehab wise. (Very good news for Wizards fans to see that Arnaud is on his way back.)
- Myers picked up an injury is a game time decision for this weekend. (Not good, Myers was likely to start against DC, let's hope he's able to go and has a debut like Harrington last year against DC.)
- Construction to begin in June on our SSS (Fantastic news, can't go wrong with big stadium news)
- Beckham game will probably be at Arrowhead (Figured this would happen, no use in wasting the extra revenue by only selling out CAB, when you can sell another 20K at least on top of that at Arrowhead.)

Those were some of the main highlights about the Wizards. Overall a good interview and worth listening to.

Wizards to Play Two Games at Arrowhead?

Details continue to leak about the Wizards schedule, which is due to be released tomorrow. Today, Pete Grathoff at the Star says that source with the team has told him that the Wizards could play at least two games at the 'Head this season.

The obvious choice for one of those games, is the Beckham Game Part Deux. After last years game drew in the largest crowd for a Wizards game ever, OnGoal has to be hoping that the Beckham game falls late enough in the season that the Wizards can get into Arrowhead and host the game there. But what about the second game? What team would bring in a large enough crowd to make the switch from CAB to Arrowhead worth it? My guess would be one of the two games we're suppose to have against Chicago at home. Last year, when the Fire came to play here,the appeal of former Mexican international, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, brought out a large crowd to Arrowhead for the game. These two players, Beckham and Blanco, are the two stars in MLS that will really pull in a mass amount of people who wouldn't normally come to games. If the Wizards do have at least two games at Arrowhead, it'd be tough to make an argument against either one of these games.

Update on 2007 Wants and Wishes

We are about half way through the year 2007, so I thought it was due time to review my wants and wishes for 2007 that I posted back in December.

1. The Wizards Announce 2007-2008 Home. Well this was partially filled. We found out in February that the Wizards would play 2007 in Arrowhead. That still leaves the question of 2008 and probably 2009 since the Wizards haven't started work on a soccer specific stadium yet. So this want has been half way filled.

2. Announcement of Plans to Build Wizards SSS. Still waiting on this one, although the news continues to be positive. Robb Heineman recently said plans are for a 18,500 seat stadium. There are also apparently 4 possible locations for the stadium, 2 each side of the state line. I still have hope that we'll hear an announcement before the end of the year. The fact that the Wizards training facility is built already gives a major kick in the crotch to those that think the Wizards will move.

3. Wizards Return to the Playoffs. We'll we're not half way through the season yet, but the Wizards are in a good position right now to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2004. Hopefully the recent lack of results does not continue, and the Wizards can get back on track to challenging for the MLS Cup again.

4. Return of Form for Eddie Johnson. Well so far this is an emphatic yes. 9 goals so far this season, including 2 hattricks. Eddie has looked a lot better this season then last season or the season before. The Wizards though will have to live without him for at least 3 more games though as he's with the US at Copa America.

5. Jamie Trecker Exposed for the Pompous Ass He is to the Entire World. Still waiting on this one, but he has been fairly quiet when it comes to sticking his foot in his mouth in his articles.

6. US Men's National Team Gold Cup and Copa America Success. Well I'd call a win over your rival in the finals of the Gold Cup a major plus. Copa America is getting ready to start, the US's first game is tomorrow against Argentina, but the younger roster that the US is putting out for the tournament will probably lead to an early exit.

7. The Wizards Bring in an Attacking Midfielder. This can be answered with 2 words, Carlos Marinelli. He's been a great central midfielder so far this season, giving the Wizards a stronger midfield then they've had in years. Hopefully his continued play will help lead the Wizards in the midfield in a way we haven't seen since Preki.

8. A Friendly Against a European Team for the Wizards. This hasn't been fulfilled, which is kind of sad with teams like Aston Villa, Benfica, Celtic, Chelsea, Cracovia (Poland), and I'm sure there are others. Other teams are playing Mexican league competition. Yet still the Wizards sit, not having had a home friendly since 1997 or so. There is still talk of a friendly with new Mexican League partner, Atlas, but there has not been news on that since the deal was signed.

I'll visit these wishes at the end of the year to see how these have gone after a year. Hopefully they'll all be fulfilled.

Kansas City Wizards Home for 2007 is...

Arrowhead Stadium.

Confirmed by Wizards president Robb Heineman.