This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2015) |
The Kansas City metropolitan area has a long history of sports, which has included national championship teams and championship title events.
Club | Sport | League | Founded | Venue | Titles |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kansas City Chiefs | American football | National Football League | 1960 | Arrowhead Stadium | 7* |
Kansas City Royals | Baseball | Major League Baseball | 1969 | Kauffman Stadium | 2 |
Sporting Kansas City | Soccer | Major League Soccer | 1996 | Children's Mercy Park | 2 |
Kansas City Current | Soccer | National Women's Soccer League | 2020 | CPKC Stadium | 0 |
Kansas City has had teams in all five of the major professional sports leagues; three major league teams remain today. The Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball became the first American League expansion team to reach the playoffs (1976), to reach the World Series (1980), and to win the World Series (1985; against the state-rival St. Louis Cardinals in the "Show-Me Series").[ citation needed ] They did not make the playoffs again until 2014, winning the American League pennant before falling in a seven-game World Series to the San Francisco Giants. The Royals would return to the World Series in 2015, defeating the New York Mets in five games, clinching the title with a 7–2 win in 12 innings.
Since moving to the city in 1963, the Kansas City Chiefs won the AFL title in 1966, ultimately losing Super Bowl I to the Green Bay Packers, and again in 1969 as the last ever AFL champion, en route to their first Super Bowl win. They won Super Bowl IV against the Minnesota Vikings, 23–7. 50 years later, they would win Super Bowl LIV 31–20 against the San Francisco 49ers. In 2023, they won Super Bowl LVII over the Philadelphia Eagles with the score of 38-35, marking their second Super Bowl victory over the last four seasons and third Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer (MLS) plays its home games at Children's Mercy Park, formerly named Livestrong Sporting Park and Sporting Park. Kansas City has won the MLS Cup twice — first in 2000 by defeating the Chicago Fire 1–0, and next in 2013 by beating Real Salt Lake at Sporting Park. Kansas City has won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup four times — first in 2004 by beating the Chicago Fire, next in 2012 by beating the Seattle Sounders at Sporting Park, again in 2015 by beating the Philadelphia Union, and most recently in 2017 by beating the New York Red Bulls. Kansas City was previously represented by the Kansas City Spurs in the top-level North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1968 to 1970. The Spurs captured the NASL championship in 1969, but were dissolved shortly after the 1970 NASL season.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is named for Lamar Hunt; while he was best known as the founding owner of the Chiefs, he was also a principal founder of both the original North American Soccer League (NASL) and Major League Soccer (MLS).
In the three most prominent women's professional leagues (the WNBA, the National Women's Soccer League, and the Professional Women's Hockey League), Kansas City has had two teams, both in the NWSL. FC Kansas City was one of the league's eight inaugural teams in 2013, but management issues led to the team being folded after the 2017 season, with its playing-related assets transferred to the first Utah Royals. That team ceased operations after the 2020 season, and its playing-related assets were transferred to a new Kansas City ownership group. The new Kansas City team played its first season in 2021 under the placeholder name Kansas City NWSL before adopting its permanent name of Kansas City Current the next season.
Kansas City Chiefs (NFL)4 Super Bowl titles 2 American Football League (AFL) Championship Titles The Franchise has another AFL Title as the Dallas Texans in 1962 before moving to Kansas City. [1] Kansas City Royals (MLB)2 World Series titles Kansas City Monarchs (NNL/NAL)2 Negro World Series titles | Kansas City Spurs (NASL)1 NASL title Sporting Kansas City (MLS)2 MLS Cup titles FC Kansas City (NWSL)2 NWSL titles |
In 1926 the NFL added the Kansas City Blues and later renamed the club to the Kansas City Cowboys (NFL) in 1926. The club folded in 1927.
In 1972, Kansas City gained an NBA franchise, when the Kansas City-Omaha Kings – which had originated as the Rochester Royals, before becoming the Cincinnati Royals – relocated to the city from Cincinnati; the Kings split their home games between Kansas City and Omaha, Nebraska until 1975, when the team began playing its games exclusively in Kansas City, shortening its name to the Kansas City Kings. In 1985, the Kings relocated to Sacramento, California, becoming the Sacramento Kings.
In 1974, the National Hockey League (NHL) added an expansion team in Kansas City, [2] when the Kansas City Scouts began play. The team would suffer due to an economic downturn in the Midwest. For their second season, the Scouts sold just 2,000 of 8,000 season tickets and were almost $1 million in debt. Due to their various on- and off-ice disappointments, the franchise moved to Denver before settling on the East Coast as the New Jersey Devils.
The Kansas Crusaders won the 1993 Women's Professional Basketball WBA Championship and the Kansas City Mustangs went undefeated in 1994.
Kansas City and nearby Overland Park, Kansas were once the home of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and has hosted ten men's final fours, more than any other city. However, Kansas City will be unable to host an 11th Final Four due to the NCAA's requirement starting with the 1997 tournament that all Final Four venues have a minimum seating capacity of 30,000.
In recognition of Kansas City's ten final fours, the National Association of Basketball Coaches are based in the city, and operates a full-time museum in the new Sprint Center, which opened in 2007 and is now known as T-Mobile Center.
Kansas City is home to the Mid–America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, an NCAA Division II conference of 14 schools in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics was formed in Kansas City. The NAIA national men's basketball tournament takes place each year in Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is located in the 18th and Vine district.
Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and practice facilities are located in Kansas City, Kansas. The team has played its home matches at Children's Mercy Park since 2011.
Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL).
Lamar Hunt Sr. was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of football, soccer, and tennis in the United States.
Soccer in the United States is the fourth most popular sport in the United States behind American football, basketball, and baseball
Nick Garcia is an American former professional soccer player.
The 1996 Major League Soccer season was the inaugural season of Major League Soccer. It was the 84th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 18th with a national first-division league.
The 2000 Major League Soccer season was the fifth season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 88th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 22nd with a national first-division league.
The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding in 1968 through 1974, the championship game was known as the NASL Championship Final, and in 1984 the single game was replaced by a best-of-three series known as the Soccer Bowl Series.
Washington, D.C., has major league sports teams, popular college sports teams, and a variety of other team and individual sports. The Washington metropolitan area is also home to several major sports venues including Capital One Arena, RFK Stadium, Northwest Stadium, Audi Field, and Nationals Park.
The Greater Los Angeles area is home to many professional and collegiate sports teams and has hosted many national and international sporting events. The metropolitan area has twelve major league professional teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Angels, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles FC, the LA Galaxy, the Los Angeles Kings, the Anaheim Ducks, the Los Angeles Sparks, and Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League. The Los Angeles metropolitan area is home to nine universities whose teams compete in various NCAA Division I level sports, most notably the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans. Between them, these Los Angeles area sports teams have won a combined 105 championship titles. Los Angeles area colleges have produced upwards of 200 national championship teams.
The San Francisco Bay Area, which includes the major cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, hosts five major league sports franchises, with a major women's sports franchise soon to start play, as well as several other professional and college sports teams, and hosts other sports events.
The Tampa Bay area is home to many sports teams and has a substantial history of sporting activity. Most of the region's professional sports franchises use the name "Tampa Bay", which is the name of a body of water, not of any city. This is to emphasize that they represent the wider metropolitan area and not a particular municipality and was a tradition started by Tampa's first major sports team, the original Tampa Bay Rowdies, when they were founded in 1975.
The U.S. state of Florida has three National Football League teams, two Major League Baseball teams, two National Basketball Association teams, two National Hockey League teams, two Major League Soccer teams and 13 NCAA Division I college teams.
The 2012 Major League Soccer season was the 17th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 100th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 34th with a national first-division league.
Children's Mercy Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, and is the team home for Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer (MLS). The stadium is located near Kansas Speedway, on the far west side of Wyandotte County, Kansas. It opened during the 2011 MLS season on June 9, 2011, with a match against the Chicago Fire. The stadium has a seating capacity of 18,467, which can expand to 25,000 for concerts. Most SKC games attract around 21,000 spectators because of different stadium modes. The stadium is Sporting Kansas City's third home venue; then known as the Kansas City Wizards, the team played in Arrowhead Stadium from 1996 to 2007 and CommunityAmerica Ballpark from 2008 to 2010. In 2013, the stadium hosted the MLS All-Star Game, the United States men's national soccer team, and the MLS Cup, and is the only stadium to host all three in the same year.
Seth Sinovic is an American former professional soccer player. He most recently played as a left back for the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer.
The 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final was played on August 8, 2012 at Livestrong Sporting Park, now known as Children's Mercy Park, in Kansas City, Kansas. The match was the culmination of the 2012 U.S. Open Cup, a tournament open to amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation. This was the 99th edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. Sporting Kansas City won their second U.S. Open Cup title, their first since 2004, by defeating Seattle Sounders FC, 3–2 in a penalty shootout following a 1–1 draw through extra time.
The 2013 season was the 101st edition of competitive soccer in the United States.
Oklahoma City is home to several professional sports teams, including the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Thunder is the city's second "permanent" major professional sports franchise after the now-defunct AFL Oklahoma Wranglers and is the third major-league team to call the city home when considering the temporary hosting of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for the 2005–06 and 2006–07 NBA seasons.
Khiry Lamar Shelton is an American professional soccer player who plays for Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City. He has also represented the United States at the under-18 and under-23 levels.