KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City NWSL will have a new home for the 2022 season.
The club announced Wednesday that it will play its home games at Children’s Mercy Park, the home stadium of Sporting Kansas City, next season.
Kansas City NWSL, which relocated from Utah for the 2021 season, has played home matches during its inaugural season at Legends Field, where the Kansas City Monarchs independent professional baseball team plays.
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The club’s final four regular-season home games in October 2021 will continue to be at Legends Field.
“We are incredibly grateful to Mark Brandmeyer and the entire Legends Field staff and crew for making our Inaugural season so special,” KC NWSL Founder and Co-Owner Chris Long said in a statement. “They stepped up in a monumental way when we brought the team to Kansas City last December and had to be on the field in only 140 days. Mark and his staff are forever a part of our history and KC NWSL family, helping create a memorable first season for our fans.”
Children’s Mercy Park is a soccer-specific stadium that opened in 2011 with an official capacity of nearly 18,500 fans.
“We are thrilled to move our home matches to Children’s Mercy Park,” KC NWSL Chief Operating Officer Amber Cox said in a statement. “When the opportunity materialized for the 2022 season to move to one of the best soccer stadiums in the world, we felt it made sense, especially given our player-first approach. We’re excited to offer soccer fans in Kansas City a full menu of both men’s and women’s soccer at Children’s Mercy Park in 2022.”
The club announced plans last week for a new $15-million training facility in Riverside.
Children’s Mercy Park and Legends Field are both located in Kansas City, Kansas, near Kansas Speedway.
KC NWSL (2-11-5) plays Sunday at the Washington Spirit. The club’s remaining home matches are Saturday, Oct. 2, against the Houston Dash, Sunday, Oct. 10, against the Portland Thorns, Friday, Oct. 22, against the NJ/NY Gotham FC and Saturday, Oct. 30, against the OL Reign.
The NWSL placed a franchise in Kansas City for its inaugural season in 2013. FC Kansas City won back-to-back NWSL titles in 2014 and 2015 before missing the playoffs the next two seasons.
The club then ceased operations and after a disastrous ownership transition. The league reacquired the team and transferred FC Kansas City’s players to the expansion Utah Royals FC, which folded after three seasons.
All Utah Royals players, draft picks and other player assets to the new Kansas City NWSL franchise.
