Swope Soccer Village
 | |
.jpg) FC Kansas City playing at Swope Park | |
| Location |
6310 Lewis Road Kansas City, Missouri 64132 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°00′43″N 94°31′12″W / 39.012°N 94.520°WCoordinates: 39°00′43″N 94°31′12″W / 39.012°N 94.520°W |
| Owner | City of Kansas City |
| Operator | Sporting Kansas City |
| Capacity |
3,500 (expanded to 3,557 for FCKC[1]) |
| Surface |
Bluegrass blend (stadium, 2 fields) Artificial turf (6 fields) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 2007 |
| Opened | 2007 |
| Tenants | |
|
FC Kansas City (NWSL) (2015–present) Swope Park Rangers (USL) (2016–present) Sporting KC Academy | |
Swope Soccer Village is a soccer complex located within Swope Park in Kansas City, Missouri, first dedicated in 2007 with further renovations completed in 2014. The facility is a public-private partnership between the City of Kansas City's parks department and Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer, with field reservations managed by the Heartland Soccer Association, a local youth soccer organization. Children's Mercy Victory Field is the home venue of FC Kansas City of the National Women's Soccer League and Swope Park Rangers of the United Soccer League, as well as Sporting Kansas City's five youth academy teams.
Overview
The complex features nine fields in total: a natural-grass stadium where FC Kansas City and the Swope Park Rangers play, two natural-grass practice fields for Sporting Kansas City and six artificial turf fields for local youth soccer clubs. The facility has also served as the venue for the Big 12 Conference women's soccer tournament since 2013,[2] and has hosted the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's soccer championships, as well as the men's and women's Division III championships.[3] In addition, the Missouri high school girls state finals will be played at Swope Soccer Village from 2016-2020.
Background and planning
The current Swope Soccer Village is the result of an expansion that completed in 2014 and cost $13.4 million in city funds.[4]
The soccer complex is located on land that was the practice field for the Kansas City Chiefs before Arrowhead Stadium opened in 1972.[4] Sporting Kansas City, then known as the Kansas City Wizards, broke ground and dedicated their training facility in Swope Park in 2007,[5] with a second phase of construction completed in 2008.
The completed Swope Soccer Village opened in September 2015, with Sporting handing the responsibility of managing the facilities to Heartland Soccer Association.[4] The main stadium had opened earlier, in November 2013, to host the Big 12 women's soccer tournament.[2]
Tenants
In January 2015, FC Kansas City reached an agreement with Sporting to play its home games at the main stadium in Swope and use the training fields.[6] The stadium's capacity was increased to 3,557[1] using bleachers the team had purchased for use at Durwood Soccer Stadium, its previous home.[7]
References
- 1 2 "Lloyd scores in return as Dash draw Kansas City". The Equalizer. July 20, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- 1 2 Roberts, Rob (November 5, 2013). "Swope Park Soccer Village expansion nets Big 12 tournament". Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ↑ Kerkhoff, Blair (December 11, 2013). "Kansas City, Sporting Park win with NCAA championship selections". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- 1 2 3 Hellman, Rick (September 9, 2014). "Born of controversy, Swope Soccer Village burnishes KC area reputation in the sport". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Wizards plan training site for Swope Park". Kansas City Business Journal. January 31, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ↑ Husted, Jeff (January 13, 2015). "FCKC partners with Sporting, moves to Swope Park". The Equalizer. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ↑ Bell, Thad (January 13, 2015). "FC Kansas City and Sporting KC partner". The Blue Statement. SB Nation. Retrieved August 8, 2015.