Wyandotte County’s apparent soccer development victory eluded KCMO

Kansas City, Missouri, is always the bridesmaid when it comes to the metro’s biggest soccer developments.

The then-Kansas City Wizards once upon a time were supposed to build their new soccer stadium at the moribund Bannister Mall, but late in 2009, Kansas and Wyandotte County officials came forward with a tax incentive-laden deal to lure the Major League Soccer squad to a new development site at the Legends. 

And now, it looks like Wyandotte County is the winner in another bid to get a big soccer-related development that was apparently originally envisioned for the West Bottoms.

The Kansas City Star reports that Gov. Sam Brownback is headed to Kansas City, Kansas, today for a 6 p.m. big announcement ahead of Sporting Kansas City’s exhibition match against English squad Manchester City. While Brownback’s office and Sporting Kansas City have been tight-lipped ahead of the evening announcement, a submission on file with the Unified Government’s planning commission indicates plans for a major project at the Legends, which the Star describes as a $65 million training and coaching development center for the U.S. Soccer Federation. U.S. Soccer is the entity in charge of the country’s national soccer programs like the team that just got done playing in the World Cup in Brazil.

The project at 98th Street and Parallel Parkway would include a 100,000-square-foot training facility, several soccer fields, and would be surrounded by restaurants, retail shops, a hotel and several car dealerships, according to the Star’s report. Almost exactly a year ago, Sporting CEO Robb Heineman tweeted out a rendering of what he described as a coaching and training complex for U.S. Soccer, but there was little to no followup.

A similar project was explored in the West Bottoms about a year ago, The Pitch has learned.

Troy Schulte, Kansas City manager, confirmed that the project was considered for the West Bottoms more than a year ago, but plans fell apart when real-estate prices were too high.

“To my knowledge, planning for the project moved away from the West Bottoms site over a year ago once the land acquisition fell through,” Schulte tells The Pitch via e-mail.

Sporting Kansas City does have a presence in Kansas City, Missouri. It bought and renovated the Hanna Rubber Co. at 15th Street and Baltimore (with taxpayer assistance), turning it into the headquarters for a Sporting Kansas City-related company and a site for various team functions. The team also practices at a newly reconstructed training center in Swope Park (also with taxpayer assistance).

But the team’s main action, the place where people go to watch the team, takes place in Wyandotte County. And it appears that U.S. Soccer’s main Midwestern appendage will blossom over there, too.