Sporting KC releases 2017 MLS schedule

KANSAS CITY, Kans. (SportingKC.com) – Sporting Kansas City released the club’s 34-game regular season schedule on Thursday for the 2017 Major League Soccer season.

Single-game tickets for Sporting KC’s first 10 home matches at Children’s Mercy Park will go on sale to the general public Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. CT on SeatGeek.com, the club’s new and official ticketing provider that allows supporters to buy, share and sell tickets. In addition, current Season Ticket Members will have access to an exclusive single-game pre-sale beginning Friday, Jan. 27 at 10 a.m. CT. For more ticket information, call 888-4KC-GOAL.

The 2017 MLS schedule will see Sporting Kansas City play 10 Saturday home games at Children’s Mercy Park, six more than in 2016. The club will host four Sunday fixtures — six fewer than last year — as well as three midweek contests.

Sporting Kansas City will compete in the Western Conference for a third straight season, facing each of the 11 Eastern Conference clubs once over the course of the year. The remaining 23 games will be played within the West, with home and away fixtures against each of its 10 conference rivals. The club will face FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake and expansion side Minnesota United FC three times each to round out the 34-game slate.

2017 Home Opponents: Atlanta United FC, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas (2), Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy, Minnesota United FC, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

2017 Road Opponents: Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew SC, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy, Minnesota United FC (2), New York City FC, Orlando City SC, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake (2), San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

All 34 matches on Sporting Kansas City’s MLS slate will be televised live, including the club’s season opener at D.C. United on March 4. The curtain raiser will be the first MLS match to air on FOX Sports Kansas City, the new television home of Sporting KC. Supporters will also have the option to stream local telecasts via the FOX Sports GO app or FOXSportsGo.com. FOX Sports Kansas City will air 30-minute pregame and postgame shows surrounding every local broadcast.

Sporting Kansas City is set to make nine national television appearances in 2017 — four on ESPN, four on FS1 and one on UniMas. The ESPN, FOX Sports and Univision networks enter the third year of their partnership with MLS and will collectively broadcast five matches at state-of-the-art Children’s Mercy Park, home to an 87-game sellout streak in MLS competition. Following a record year for attendance and overall viewership, the 2017 broadcast schedule expands on the successes of 2016, capitalizing on strategic placement for MLS matches in order to bring league action to the broadest audiences ever while also creating a competitively balanced schedule for all 22 teams.

As in previous years, ESPN and FOX Sports will simulcast MLS matches on their Spanish language networks (ESPN Deportes and FOX Deportes) as well as their authenticated digital platforms (WatchESPN and FOX Sports GO). UniMas broadcasts will be available in English and Spanish both on television and streamed live on the Univision Deportes app.

After kicking off 2017 in the nation’s capital, Sporting Kansas City hosts reigning MLS Supporters’ Shield and U.S. Open Cup champion FC Dallas in the club’s home opener on Saturday, March 11. Manager Peter Vermes’ men remain in Kansas City the following Saturday for a date with the San Jose Earthquakes before FIFA’s international break on the final weekend of March. Sporting KC’s next off-weekend won’t come until July, when Major League Soccer observes a break from July 7-16 for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The team’s final off-weekend arrives Sept. 2-3 during the late-summer FIFA window.

The club’s first two FS1 matches come on consecutive game weeks — a high-profile trip to Toronto FC on March 31 followed by a home tilt with Colorado Rapids on April 9. An exciting month of May includes Sporting KC’s inaugural meeting at Minnesota United FC (May 7), the club’s first visit to Orlando City SC’s new soccer-specific stadium (May 13), and a home game against defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC (May 17).

June begins with Minnesota United FC’s first trip to Children’s Mercy Park, the first of three ESPN telecasts in Kansas City. Vermes’ side will later make consecutive trips to California, facing San Jose on June 17 and the LA Galaxy on June 24.

Fixtures immediately following the Gold Cup break feature an inaugural showdown with Atlanta United FC on Aug. 6 at Children’s Mercy Park and the return visit to Seattle’s CenturyLink Field, where Sporting Kansas City suffered narrow elimination in the 2016 Western Conference Knockout Round.

Sporting Kansas City will return to Yankee Stadium to battle New York City FC on Sept. 6 before meeting Crew SC in Columbus four days later. The club will then host four of its final six regular season matches, including an ESPN clash with LA Galaxy on Sept. 24.

Week 33 will see every MLS team in action on the penultimate Sunday of the regular season. Five Western Conference matches will kick off concurrently at 4 p.m. CT on Oct. 15, including Sporting KC’s final home game against the Houston Dynamo. The 2017 regular season concludes with Decision Day on Oct. 22 as Sporting KC visits rivals Real Salt Lake in one of 11 games that will begin simultaneously at 3 p.m. CT.

Outside of the MLS regular season, Sporting Kansas City will also compete in the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a prestigious knockout competition that will introduce MLS participants in mid-June and culminate with the final in September. Sporting KC is a three-time U.S. Open Cup champion, having lifted the trophy in 2004, 2012 and 2015.

Sporting Kansas City will travel to Tucson, Arizona for both phases of the 2017 preseason, presented by Children’s Mercy. The club will train at Kino Sports Complex from Jan. 23 – Feb. 7, then return for the Desert Diamond Cup from Feb. 15-25.

Sporting KC 2017 Regular Season Schedule

Kickoff times subject to change