Sporting Kansas City releases full 2016 schedule
The newly-named Children’s Mercy Park will be a fixture on national TV in 2016.
Sporting Kansas City is set to play 15 nationally-televised matches this season, and 11 of those will come inside their home stadium. MLS released full team and broadcast schedules Thursday, two weeks after it it unveiled every club’s home opener.
Sporting KC will open the season in Seattle on March 6. The 6 p.m. kickoff will be televised on Fox Sports 1. The club will play its first home match under the Children’s Mercy Park brand on March 12 against Vancouver.
MLS will conclude its regular season with “Decision Day” on Oct. 23, a feature in which every team will play in a match that starts at 3 p.m.
Among the highlights on the 2016 schedule, Orlando City SC will make its inaugural trip to trip to Children’s Mercy Park on May 15, a match slated to feature former Sporting KC defender Aurelien Collin’s return to Kansas City.
Sporting KC will meet defending MLS Cup champion Portland in back-to-back matches on July 31 (home) and Aug. 7 (road). Portland eliminated Sporting KC from the 2015 postseason.
The 34-game MLS schedule includes one match each against the 10 Eastern Conference opponents, two matches against Houston, Portland and Seattle and three dates with Colorado, FC Dallas, LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, San Jose and Vancouver.
Sporting KC will open its U.S. Open Cup title defense on June 15, with the time and opponent to be determined at a later date. The club also will participate in the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League later during the summer.
Sporting KC will depart for training camp in Tucson, Ariz., on Jan. 23 for a two-week stint. After returning home for six days, it will travel back to Tucson for the Desert Diamond Cup from Feb. 14-27, the final tune-up before a trip to Seattle.
Every Sporting KC regular-season match will be on TV, with KMCI (Ch. 38) serving as the club’s local broadcast partner for the third straight season. Single-game tickets for the first 10 home matches will go on sale to the general public on Feb. 1. For more ticket information, call 888-4KC-GOAL.
Sam McDowell: 816-234-4869, @SamMcDowell11
2016 Sporting KC MLS schedule
Date | Opponent | Time | TV |
Sun., March 6 | at Seattle FC | 6 p.m. | FS1 |
Sat., March 12 | VANCOUVER | 7:30 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sun., March 20 | TORONTO FC | 6 p.m. | FS1 |
Sat., April 2 | REAL SALT LAKE | 7:30 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sat., April 9 | at New York Red Bulls | 6 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Wed., April 13 | COLORADO | 7:30 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sun., April 17 | at FC Dallas | 6 p.m. | FS1 |
Sun., April 24 | at San Jose | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN |
Web., April 27 | at Vancouver | TBA | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sun., May 1 | LA GALAXY | 7 p.m. | FS1 |
Sat., May 7 | at Houston | TBA | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Wed., May 11 | at Colorado | 8 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sun., May 15 | ORLANDO CITY SC | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN |
Sat., May 21 | REAL SALT LAKE | 7:30 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Fri., May 27 | D.C. UNITED | 6 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Thur., June 2 | at LA Galaxy | 9:30 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sun., June 19 | FC DALLAS | 4 p.m. | ESPN |
Sat., June 25 | at Montreal | TBA | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sun., July 3 | COLUMBUS | 6 p.m. | FS1 |
Sun., July 10 | NEW YORK CITY FC | 7 p.m. | FS1 |
Wed., July 13 | at Chicago | 7:30 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sat., July 16 | at Colorado | 8 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sun., July 24 | SEATTLE | 2 p.m. | ESPN |
Sun., July 31 | PORTLAND | 1 p.m. | Fox (Ch. 4) |
Sun., Aug. 7 | at Portland | 3 p.m. | ESPN |
Sat., Aug. 13 | at FC Dallas | 8 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sat., Aug. 20 | VANCOUVER | 7:30 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sat., Aug. 27 | at Philadelphia | TBA | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Fri., Sept. 9 | HOUSTON | 7 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sun., Sept. 18 | LA GALAXY | Noon | ESPN |
Sat., Sept. 24 | at San Jose | 9:30 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sat., Oct. 1 | at New England | 6:30 p.m. | KMCI (Ch. 38) |
Sun., Oct. 16 | at Real Salt Lake | 6 p.m.* | TBA* |
Sun., Oct. 23 | SAN JOSE | 3 p.m.* | TBA* |
*Subject to flex scheduling
All times Central; Home games in CAPS at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.
This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Sporting Kansas City releases full 2016 schedule."