Youth were kicking around soccer balls nearby while Gov. Sam Brownback and Mayor Mark Holland made speeches and participated in a ribbon-cutting this morning to open Wyandotte Sporting Fields at 1500 N. 90th, near 90th and State Avenue.
Twelve new soccer playing fields for youth, including eight with synthetic turf and four with natural grass, are on 52 acres between Parallel Parkway and State Avenue, west of 90th Street. About 1,000 parking spaces are at the new facility. It also has a concession and restroom area.
The project is expected to be part of a new boost for tourism and visitor dollars that will come to Kansas and Kansas City, Kansas, according to officials.
“I am so impressed with it and with their vision that they’ve been pulling for, which is making Kansas City the soccer capital of the United States,” Gov. Brownback said. “And this is now the case, that Kansas City is the soccer capital of the United States.”
Gov. Brownback said the United States winning the World Cup is a lofty goal, and because of investments, efforts and vision like this, it will take place, with this as an epicenter.
About 1.3 million visitors are expected annually to the Wyandotte Soccer Fields, he said, and this is expected to have a profound economic effect in Kansas City.
Gov. Brownback said the project is a joint venture of the Sporting KC, the state, the UG, private sector, and a number of private entities. They are currently in their fourth STAR bond project in this area, he said, which invest sales tax revenues into the projects. The fourth is the American Royal project in western Wyandotte County.
“This is a model that works, and it’s been working well in this area,” Gov. Brownback said. “It’s been working well off a partnership of people that politically you could say don’t agree.”
Mayor Mark Holland said the goal of STAR bonds is to bring in visitors to the community and to the state who wouldn’t come here otherwise.
Holland said Sporting KC is “on the cutting edge” and sets the standard for excellence in Kansas City, Kansas, and in the metropolitan area, including at the soccer stadium, National Training and Coaching Center, youth fields and futsal courts.
“Wyandotte County is glad to host the fastest growing economy in the state, and glad to host the soccer capital of America for Kansas and for the whole metropolitan area,” Holland said.
Robb Heineman, CEO of Sporting Club, said this youth soccer complex was part of the original deal among the state, the Unified Government and Sporting in 2009.
“This facility over the course of the next 20 years will support hundreds of thousands of youth players here in the region,” Heineman said. The primary users will about 80,000 youth members through Sporting Club youth affiliates, and they will be joined by kids from throughout the nation who will come to the complex.
“Our goal is for the U.S. to win the World Cup on the men’s side,” Heineman said. “To win the World Cup, we feel like we need world-class assets.”
They started with Children’s Mercy Park, and then thought the U.S. needed a great training facility, he said. They wanted a facility where Kansas City can emulate the highest youth development, he added. About a mile west of the Wyandotte Sporting Fields, the National Training and Coaching Center is now being built.
As part of the original agreement with the UG and Sporting KC, 19 futsal courts also were built throughout Wyandotte County, at 10 locations, for local youth to play soccer in their neighborhoods. These are smaller soccer playing courts with an asphalt base. Some are located at parks and some are at schools throughout Wyandotte County.
The primary tenant of the Wyandotte Sporting Fields will be KC Fusion, according to information from Sporting KC. KC Fusion is a competitive youth soccer group that is affiliated with the Metro United Soccer Club.
The Wyandotte Sporting Fields is expected to be the host for youth soccer leagues, as well as for regional and national tournaments.
The new artificial turf fields will have computer-controlled lighting, according to information from Sporting KC. The natural grass fields will be irrigated.
According to information from Sporting Club, which owns Wyandotte Sporting Fields, Sporting Fields + Athletics will operate the athletic events held at Wyandotte Sporting Fields and also at Swope Soccer Village. Swope has nine full-size soccer fields and is the training site of Sporting KC, Swope Park Rangers and Sporting KC Academy. The Swope Park Rangers play in the Swope complex.
Can anyone use these fields?