Finally, they might be on the fast track for their own just-right 18,500 capacity soccer-specific-stadium. We’ve heard this before, of course, with the Hillcrest Road project in south Kansas City, Missouri. In 2007, a new stadium at the Bannister Malls site was approved by the Kansas City council. Then for two years, we didn’t hear much more about any progress towards groundbreaking. The council’s support for the project stalled in the wake of the economic crisis.

Kansas City Wizards new stadium rendering

But OnGoal, owners of the Wizards, remained committed to a 2011 opening for a new stadium, which the team desperately needs. And finally, this goal does look attainable:  just not on Hillcrest Road, or even in Kansas City, Missouri. Instead, a separate $414m redevelopment project near Kansas City Speedway and not far from CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kansas has actual funding and is being railroaded through with local government support (for anyone unfamiliar with the Midwestern United States, Kansas City is a small city in Kansas and a satellite of the much larger Kansas City in bordering Missouri. I think.)

Location of proposed Kansas City Wizards stadium

The reason my money’s on this project coming to fruition is that the stadium is just one half of the larger economically desirable development plan for Village West centred on the activities of local company Cerner Corp, who are in the increasingly lucrative business of providing IT to the healthcare industry. Cerner’s stock has doubled in the past year, and they continue to grow rapidly. In fact, they plan to add over 4,000 jobs at the Village West location in a new 600,000-square-foot office project key to the $414m redevelopment proposal.

Oh, and two of Cerner Corp’s co-founders — Cliff Illig and Neal Patterson — happen to be two of the five investors in OnGoal, the Kansas City Wizard’s ownership group since 2006.

Moreover, public STAR Bonds funding is already available and OnGoal’s real estate developer, Lane4 Properties Group, are applying for their use for the development scheme (existing STAR bond sales tax revenues is running at an impressive $40m a year). With 4,000 new jobs at Cerner tied to the proposal (which would be the largest single job creation program in the history of the county), it’s no wonder Wyandotte County’s Unified Government endorsed the proposal yesterday. Quotes from the Kansas City Star illustrate just how keen local officials are on the project:

In addition to the 4,000 direct new jobs paying an average salary of $54,000, the developer is projecting that 1,900 spin-off jobs would be created by the office campus and 2,400 more jobs to be created by the soccer stadium and amateur sports complex. This would bring the total to more than 8,300.

The estimated annual economic benefit would be more than $500 million, and the new stadium and soccer fields alone would attract 2.5 million visitors annually, according to the developer.

“We’re very excited about the prospect of thousands of new jobs,” said Dennis Hays, Wyandotte County administrator. “The proposed office complex is an integral part of the overall plan for Village West, to bring daytime traffic.”

Hays said county officials supported the STAR bond proposal being proposed by the developer.

“The economic benefit of 8,000 new jobs in our community far outweighs any investment of sales taxes,” he said. “We’ve had discussions with state officials and will continue to work with them on this.”

$202.7 million of the project is earmarked for the Wizards stadium, with a further $47.7 million for an attached soccer field complex, a model that has proved profitable elsewhere in MLS. Along with the public funding, $221 million would come from private financing.

Officials in Kansas City, Missouri are left befuddled as their stadium project was a key part of the entire redevelopment plan for the Bannister Malls area. Some will also question the scale of public funding for the project.

But purely from the perspective of MLS, a new stadium developed by local ownership could revitalise the Wizards — and would obviously stave off continued rumours that the league wanted to move the team elsewhere — and provide a further, much needed bedrock for the league in the Midwest.

I still think that Wizards executive vice president Greg Cotton’s blathering about the ‘experiential’ nature of soccer and the useful proximity of a shopping center are not the kind of thing that actually promotes the league well. Still, the CommunityAmerica Ballpark should facilitate a better atmosphere than playing in a giant, empty NFL stadium, and I’ll stop by next season to see if the Cauldron can live up to their promise to make the place rock.

More importantly, though, the Wizards plans for a new stadium are far more promising than I realised. Indeed, in the intervening time, a critical redevelopment plan for the new stadium was approved by the Kansas City Tax Increment Financing Commission and is expected to pass the City Council next month. It then needs approval by the Missouri General Assembly, which if achieved should allow ground to be broken next year and an opening date of 2010.

The $143 million new stadium complex (renderings on the right) would replace a blighted area with an 18,500-seat stadium and a considerable office/retail complex alongside it. That’s an ideal size stadium (with room for expansion) for the “Wiz” (as they were originally known).

“This is an opportunity to change this area from a field of despair to a field of dreams, soccer dreams,” said Kansas City Councilwoman Cathy Jolly, whose district includes the Bannister Mall area.

In addition to the stadium, the first phase of the development includes a 250-room hotel, 12 tournament soccer fields, 609,000 square feet of retail space and 610,500 square feet of office space.

The entire 467-acre project, when fully developed over 10 years, is projected to cost an estimated $943 million and create more than 6,500 full- and part-time jobs, according to the developer.

Now, this project has to be seen as more-or-less the last chance for the Wizards to establish a permanent home there. Previous proposals have gone nowhere, and MLS is at the stage where a team moving from temporary digs to temporary digs would be a blight on the league.

But I must say all signs point to this project moving forward: there doesn’t seem to be much serious opposition, local politicians are in favour, the redevelopment would be good for the city, and OnGoal look like they know what they’re doing. Sure, there might be better potential MLS markets elsewhere in the U.S., but the league can expand to include them anyway. If Kansas City is viable permanently as it seems it could be, their fans of a dozen years shouldn’t suffer the way San Jose fans did by losing their franchise.

And that’s great news for MLS. Another team firmly established in the midwest speaks well for the league: even if they only draw 12-15,000 a game, so what if they’ve got a solid stadium, good support and a viable future?

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?