The Kansas City Wizards New Home, Handily Next to a Shopping Center
Readers who like to characterise MLS as a Mickey Mouse league (don’t be shy about it, folks) have a little more ammunition today as the poor old Kansas City Wizards announced their home for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. From playing in the absurdly large Arrowhead Stadium (home to the NFL’s Chiefs), the Wizards have gone to the opposite extreme, as they’ll now play at a baseball stadium with a capacity below 10,000, one home to the minor league T-Bones.
Part of the number one tourist attraction in the state of Kansas, CommunityAmerica Ballpark will let the Wizards build partnerships with the Legends at Village West, a destination shopping center directly east of the stadium. During the 2007 season, the Wizards participated in multiple events at the Legends, including player appearances and post-game festivities.
“Soccer is more than a spectator sport. It is experiential,” Executive Vice President Greg Cotton said. “Our fans’ gameday experience should include both pre-game and post-game festivities. With the Legends right next door, we have a unique opportunity to introduce our fans to this extended experience.”
The Wizards are committed to creating a total entertainment experience surrounding their home games in anticipation of a soccer-specific stadium complex with an adjacent entertainment district in the team’s immediate future.
“With approximately 10,000 seats, this move allows the Wizards and our fans the opportunity to be a part of a more intimate atmosphere that has not been present before,” Cotton said. “We believe this is an excellent venue for showcasing our world-class athletes in at atmosphere that is exciting, energetic and fun.”
Lord knows what activities the Wizards have planned at the adjacent shopping centre. Still, it’s true that playing in a sold-out small venue is better than playing in a giant, empty huge venue, so can we characterise this as progress?
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Tom Dunmore is the founder and editor of Pitch Invasion. Follow him @pitchinvasion on Twitter.
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Is this progress? – Absolutely not; Greg Cotton is very wrong. Why the need to “manufacture” the whole football experience when fans have been perfectly capable of creating their own experience through just supporting their team?
I suppose commercial links have always been a key part of American sports. But it’s a worrying trend that’s starting to appear elsewhere in world football. I believe people like Greg Cotton have to be stopped before football becomes a sideshow event in part of a bigger, “commercial experience.”
This is the best argument yet for moving them to St. Louis.
It doesn’t look good for them, and The Revolution is right to point out that the Wizards don’t seem to “get it” at all. Still, the Fire played temporarily in a crappy high school football stadium in Naperville and have survived; perhaps, just perhaps, if the Wizards can get a soccer specific stadium built by 2010 they’ll be OK. But they need to get that done fast.
The most depressing aspect is that the KC front office believes that Wizards games should be tied in with events at a shopping mall. It has a whiff of desperation about it and makes you wonder what else is going on behind the scenes.
Not to be too defensive, Thomas, but the Fire played in a brand-new college football stadium in Naperville. It definitely had crappy artificial turf, though. Granted, I don’t think they sold beer there, but it didn’t matter, as Quigley’s was just a stroll away.
Susan, I’m a Fire fan too (though not as hardcore in those days as now), and I remember Naperville well, though I always thought it was a high school stadium it was so small. Thanks for correcting that.
It wasn’t the worst place — I mean, compared to Bridgeview, the atmosphere around the stadium was much better. Not being able to buy beer there was fine, as taking the slow Metra train out there sufficed for pre-game merriment and beat driving.
The problem was its small size, how far it was from downtown Chicago (compared to Bridgeview), and the turf, as you say. Plus, it felt so temporary, and the four different stadiums the Fire played in within a few years (if we count old and new Soldier Field as different) made it very hard for the fanbase to solidify, as I think it’s now doing at Toyota Park.
Moving about is terrible for building support, making this Wizards move even more problematic.
Realistically I don’t think the people in the Wizards front office are so clueless that they think soccer and shopping are a perfect match. I think they’re trying to put on a good face and say the right things while the ship is sinking.
I hate to say that moving a team is the right move when the league is so young and the Wizards have been around for so long but it doesn’t seem to be working. If they can’t get traction and a stadium started by the end of these two years I think moving them to St. Louis is a good choice.
Also not too hot on Columbus but they do have a stadium even if its turning into a concert venue
Bob, I think that’s definitely true — they had to spin it somehow. Still, it was a miserable effort and the way the journalist just swallowed it all makes one somewhat despair.
As for Columbus, you’re referring to the new stage? A shame, and further proof these so-called “soccer-specific-stadiums” are no such thing. Still, Toyota Park survives having a stage end, and they even erected a little extra seating there recently for the sold-out games.
Quick question for Bob S and ursus arctos. Who moves MLS teams? Last I checked the league didn’t move the teams, owners did. So your opinion, and the leagues opinion doesn’t mean much as long as OnGoal is paying their yearly league fees. OnGoal, KC’s LOCAL owners, are working on getting a SSS built, in fact news on that could be coming out tomorrow from the Kansas City TIF commission. OnGoal has no reason to sell the team after having only owned it for a little over a year.
I also don’t buy designated players or make trades but I still have an opinion on that. Not to mention I think the league’s opinion really does matter. Sure they may not be able to move the team but that doesn’t change the fact that MLS has more power over its league than most do.
I still think Kansas City is a decent place to have a team and they’ve got a few great players but its the fans and fan turnout that matters at this stage. Even selling out every game of a 10,000 capacity stadium isn’t impressive so how can we judge over the next two years how strong the franchise is?
I hope the new ownership group does improve the franchise and gets an SSS but this stadium move is just going to be a lot of smoke and mirrors and could easily mask the attendance problems KC has with such a low capacity.
Isn’t it a possibility that Everton might abandon Goodison for a place next to a gigantic Tesco in a similar “destination shopping center”, sometime in the medium-term future? It’s not just KC, or even a US thing.
I can’t get too worked up about this, to be honest. They have to play somewhere next year, and apparently OnGoal is going to keep beating the bushes for the right deal in their eyes.
I hope you’re right, Metrologist. Though one should point out I haven’t heard the Everton brass touting the proximity of the Tescos as a positive, and they are actually building a new stadium.
But I don’t know enough about OnGoal myself — is the informed view that they really are committed to getting a SSS by 2010, and that there’s the necessary local support to likely get it done? If so, then great.
The other issue with the unique nature of MLS, as Bob S. hints at, is the league structure: since it’s a single entity, we have more concern with fellow clubs than, say, a Tottenham fan would care about Fulham’s stadium situation. With no relegation to weed out the weaker clubs, the league does have a stronger interest than usual in ensuring each “franchise” is healthy and moving forward.
Yes, OnGoal is committed to getting an SSS by 2010. In fact, the planned redevelopment of an old mall and surrounding showing area, which would include an SSS for the Wizards got over it’s first hurdle yesterday, passing the KC TIF Commission. At the meeting were many city and state leaders who all spoke in favor of the plan, which is good cause the plan goes to city council for approval in late Nov/early Dec and then onto the state legislature for final approval in early 08.
Good to hear positive news. Please stop by again to keep us updated, M.
This will be one of the best atmospheres in the league in 2008. Who cares if it’s 10k capacity? If it’s sold out and the Cauldron has the 500+ members they had last year, it will rock. Especially if they’re on that berm. I’ll be visiting.
This is definitely progress. The new stadium will open in 2 years, and MLS fans will have moved on to Dallas Columbus or someone else as the one thing making this look like a Mickey Mouse league…
Now, I’ve got extra hindsight on my side, but if you haven’t seen any games, the temporary home looks like a great venue for the Wizards. Fans are packed into this smaller stadium which absolutely helps any experience. The Cauldron cheering section is right behind the goal and appears to be growing from the images on TV. Yeah, of course it’s progress, just like when the Galaxy here in Los Angeles left the 90,000+ Rose Bowl for a smaller place. Especially considering the new stadium is approved and actually being built.
I think the “shopping center” aspect is blown out of porportion. I Googled the Legends complex, and it’s nearby new urbanism development, no different than the community-minded thinking you see in most American cities. It’s similar to putting Major League Baseball stadiums in revitalized downtowns…which are basically “shopping centers” with a longer history. What would be worse, is a stadium in a “housing development” with nothing to do AFTER the game, right? Ah, the Home Depot Center, great stadium…but right in the middle of all that Cal State Dominguez Hills ACTION! They won’t even let us have bacon wrapped hotdogs anymore.
I realize that message boards usually represent the general population’s most negative opinions. Give Kansas City a break.
I’m with Scott on this one. The rest of the country should give Kansas City a break.