Sporting Kansas City released the club's 34-game regular season schedule on Monday for the 2014 Major League Soccer season.
Sporting Kansas City is currently taking deposits for the 2014 season ticket member waiting list. The non-refundable deposits are $150 per seat for premium areas and $50 per seat for all other sections.
Groups of 20 or more can also place deposits, starting at $300, to secure priority consideration for preferred seating areas, game dates and hospitality options ahead of the general public. Single-game ticket information will be released at a later date.
For the second straight year, Sporting Kansas City was selected to feature in Major League Soccer's March to Soccer Opening Match and will kick off the 19th season on Saturday, March 8 at Seattle. One week later, the team opens its home schedule on Saturday, March 15 by welcoming FC Dallas to Sporting Park.
ESPN/ESPN2 will broadcast four of the team's most anticipated home match-ups with coverage of both home tilts versus Supporters' Shield holders New York, a visit from four-time MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy and the rivalry rematch against Chicago.
UniMas will also televise a match in the Sporting KC-Chicago Fire series, showcasing the lone meeting at Toyota Park on May 18.
Every Sporting Kansas City regular season MLS match will again be shown live in 2014. KMCI-TV (38 the Spot) will serve as the team's new local broadcast partner and will carry all non-nationally televised regular season matches.
Owned by Scripps Media, Inc., KCMI's plans include pre-game and post-game shows, as well as select Sporting Kansas City programing to air on sister station KSHB-TV (Kansas City's NBC affiliate).
"Sporting KC is a class organization and definitely a premiere team in Major League Soccer," said Brian Bracco, Vice President and General Manager for KSHB/KMCI-TV. "We're going to give Kansas City soccer fans unprecedented access, not only on KMCI, but KSHB as well."
"We are thrilled to begin our partnership with KMCI in 2014," said Sporting Kansas City Chief Revenue Officer Jake Reid. "Having our games aired on 38 the Spot was the right choice for Sporting Kansas City and together we will engage all of our fans to what is sure to be another great and exciting soccer season. We look forward to a fantastic relationship."
Sports Radio 810 WHB will also continue as the official radio partner of Sporting Kansas City through the 2014 season. The station -- with a listening audience that includes the states of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma - has carried Sporting Kansas City matches each of the last three seasons.
The 2014 regular season schedule sees Sporting Kansas City play all nine teams in the Western Conference once, including cross-conference match-ups for the first five weeks of the campaign. In Eastern Conference competition, Sporting KC will play the Columbus Crew and Houston Dynamo twice, coupled with three meetings scheduled against all other clubs in the East.
Sporting Kansas City will play only four mid-week matches during the MLS regular season in 2014. Half of the team's 34 games will be played on Saturdays with the remaining fixtures falling on Friday (8), Sunday (5), Wednesday (3) and Tuesday (1).
Sporting Kansas City, a charter member of Major League Soccer, plays four of the team's first six MLS matches at home in 2014 despite opening on the road for the fourth straight season. The schedule features a three-game homestand against Eastern Conference opponents in August and the team will play three straight road MLS matches -- the club's longest MLS road trip since the start of the 2011 season -- on two occasions.
Twice in 2014 the team will play a pair of games in a four-day span: away to Columbus on July 16 before hosting LA three days later, and then in September with trips to New England and New York on Sept. 3 and Sept. 6, respectively.
In addition to the MLS regular season, Sporting Kansas City will contend for the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League title as one of eight remaining clubs in the competition.
After going unbeaten in the group stage, Sporting KC will play Mexico's Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals in March in a two-game, home-and-away series determined by aggregate goals scored.
Sporting Kansas City will also participate in the 2014 edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a single-elimination domestic tournament that the team won in 2004 and 2012.
At the international level, Major League Soccer has scheduled no matches from June 12 to 24 during the group phase of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The 2013 season will conclude in dramatic fashion with MLS Cup 2013 to be played at 3 p.m. CT on Dec. 7 at Sporting Park between Sporting Kansas City and Western Conference Champions Real Salt Lake.
Sporting Kansas City season ticket members that purchased the playoff package can secure their seat(s) through the Sporting KC Account Manager on Ticketmaster.com.
All other season ticket members can take advantage of an exclusive pre-sale beginning at 12 p.m. CT on Tuesday and ending at 2 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Tickets for MLS Cup 2013, while supplies last, will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. CT on Monday, Dec. 2.
Prior to the 2014 season, Sporting Kansas City will again travel to Tucson, Ariz. and Orlando, Fla. for the team's pre-season preparations.
The team will arrive in Tucson on Jan. 23 for a two-week stay. After returning home to Kansas City on Feb. 7, the club will hold the second leg of the 2014 pre-season in Orlando from Feb. 15 thru March 2.
FULL SCHEDULE HERE
