Kansas City Wizards
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| Year founded | 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Major League Soccer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Wizards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MO |
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| Coach |  Curt Onalfo |
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| Owner | OnGoal, LLC. |
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| First Game Kansas City Wiz 3–0 Colorado Rapids (Arrowhead Stadium; April 13, 1996) |
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| Largest Win Kansas City Wizards 6–0 MetroStars (Arrowhead Stadium; June 20, 1999) |
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| Worst Defeat Kansas City Wizards 0–7 Chicago Fire (Arrowhead Stadium; July 4, 2001) |
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| All-time Top Scorer Preki (71) |
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| Supporter Groups The Cauldron |
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| MLS Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| US Open Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supporters' Shield | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Kansas City Wizards are a professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Missouri that participates in Major League Soccer. The Wizards won the MLS Cup in 2000 and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2004. The name "Wizards" is an allusion to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, as the main character is from Kansas. The team colors are blue and white.
The team's official supporters' group is referred to by the name of their seating area, "The Cauldron".
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[edit] History
The Wizards were known as the Kansas City Wiz during the 1996 season but changed names due to a copyright dispute. From 1995 until 2006, they were owned by Lamar Hunt, who also owned the Kansas City Chiefs, FC Dallas and the Columbus Crew.
In the 2000 season, the Wizards captured both the MLS Supporters' Shield and the MLS Cup. In the previous two seasons, they had failed to make the playoffs.
On July 19, 2006, head coach Bob Gansler resigned and general manager Curt Johnson selected assistant coach Brian Bliss as the new head coach[1].
On August 31, 2006, the Wizards held a press conference to announce the sale of the team to a local ownership group consisting of Cerner co-founders Neal Patterson and Cliff Illig, Rock Island Capital’s Robb Heineman, Greg Maday and David French, and Pat Curran, founder of C3 Holdings.[2] On December 9, 2004, Lamar Hunt had announced that he was looking to sell the team after the 2005 MLS season, but had trouble finding new ownership for the team.
[edit] Home stadium
- Arrowhead Stadium (1996-present)
The Wizards play their home games in Arrowhead Stadium, the American football stadium used by the Kansas City Chiefs. The Wizards have been seeking sites for a soccer-specific stadium, with the most likely location initially considered to be across the state line in Johnson County, Kansas. The Wizards' new ownership identified a site at 159th Street and U.S. 69 in south Overland Park, Kansas as its preferred location for a stadium,[2] but this plan has met with numerous difficulties, most recently the decision of the town's mayor to pull his support for the financing of the stadium.[4]
Wizards management kept the west end of Arrowhead tarped off for the first 10 years of play, limiting seating near the field. In 2006, fans could sit all the way around the field, but the 2007 seating chart shows that the Wizards management will now tarp off both ends of the stadium and allow seating only along the sidelines.
[edit] 2007 season
[edit] New stadium plans
Due to renovations of Arrowhead Stadium, the Wizards were expected to play at a temporary stadium beginning in 2007, while planning and awaiting the construction of a new facility. Yet on January 31, 2007, it was announced the Wizards would continue to play in Arrowhead in the 2007 season. Opening day is Scheduled for Saturday, May 5, 2007 (Cinco de Mayo) against Columbus Crew. [5]
The reasons given for the return to Arrowhead were the difficulties in expanding other facilities in the area (it was reported that high school stadia in Peculiar, Missouri and Olathe, Kansas were front-runners) and the delay in the Arrowhead renovation plan.
The current target date for completion of construction for a new facility have been stated as the beginning of the 2009 MLS season. Team owners are currently collaborating with architecture firm 360 Architecture on the design of the new stadium. Rendering of the proposed stadium were released in March of 2007. The Wizards will still have to seek out a temporary home field for the 2008 season.
[edit] Television and radio
Wizards matches are broadcast on Metro Sports (except for nationally broadcast matches), with Sean Wheelock doing play-by-play. There is presently no radio broadcaster.
[edit] Honors
MLS Cup:
- Winners (1): 2000
- Runners-up (1): 2004
- MLS Supporters' Shield:
- Winners (1): 2000
- Runners-up (2): 1997, 2004
- US Open Cup:
- Winners (1): 2004
[edit] Current roster
As of April 4, 2007
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† Unsigned player
[edit] Changes for the 2007 MLS Season
In
- A.J. Godbolt Signed as draft pick
- Willy Guadarrama Signed as draft pick
- Michael Harrington Signed as draft pick
- Kevin Hartman Traded from Los Angeles
- Aaron Hohlbein Signed as draft pick
- Chris Konopka Signed as draft pick
- Michael Kraus Signed as draft pick
- Kurt Morsink Signed as draft pick
Out
Dave van den Bergh Traded to Red Bull New York- Will Hesmer Drafted by Toronto FC and subsequently traded to Columbus Crew
- Bo Oshoniyi Released by team
Sergei Raad Released by team- Brian Roberts Retired
Stephen Shirley Released by team
Shavar Thomas Traded to Los Angeles Galaxy- Josh Wolff Transferred to TSV 1860 München of the German Second Bundesliga
Alex Zotinca Traded to Chivas USA
[edit] Notable players
- Mike Ammann (1996-1998)
- Davy Arnaud (2002—)
- Jose Burciaga Jr (2001—)
- Mark Chung (1996–1998)
- Jimmy Conrad (2003—)
- Nick Garcia (2000-)
- Richard Gough (1997)
Diego Gutierrez (1996-1997, 2002-2005)- Kevin Hartman (2007—)
- Chris Henderson (1998–2000)
- Jack Jewsbury (2003-)
- Eddie Johnson (2006—)
- Mo Johnston (1996–2001)
- Chris Klein (1998–2005)
Frank Klopas (1996–1997)- Alexi Lalas (1999-2001)
- Roy Lassiter (2001-2002)
- Matt McKeon (1996-1999)
- Tony Meola (1999–2004)
Miklos Molnar (2000)
Uche Okafor (1996-2000)- Preki (1996–2000, 2002–2005)
Scott Sealy (2005-)
Vitalis Takawira (1996-1999)- Shavar Thomas (2004-2006)
- Peter Vermes (2000–2002)
- Sasha Victorine (2005-)
- Josh Wolff (2003–2006)
- Kerry Zavagnin (2000—)
- Alex Zotinca (2003-2006)
[edit] Head coaches
Ron Newman (1996–1999)- Ken Fogarty (1999; interim)
- Bob Gansler (1999–2006)
- Brian Bliss (2006; interim)
- Curt Onalfo (2006-)
[edit] General managers
- Tim Latta
- Doug Newman (1997–1999)
- Curt Johnson (1999–2006)
- Peter Vermes (2006–Present) -- Technical Director
- Greg Cotton (2006–Present) -- Director of Business Operations
[edit] Presidents
- Robb Heineman (2006 - Present)[1]
[edit] Team records
- Games: Preki, 218
- Goals: Preki, 71
- Assists: Preki, 98
- Shutouts: Tony Meola, 37
MLS regular season only, through 2006 season
[edit] Year-by-year
| Year | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Open Cup |
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| 1996 | 3rd, West | Semifinals | Quarterfinals |
| 1997 | 1st, West | Quarterfinals | Round of 16 |
| 1998 | 6th, West | Did not qualify | Round of 16 |
| 1999 | 6th, West | Did not qualify | Did not enter |
| 2000 | 1st, West* | Champions | Round of 32 |
| 2001 | 3rd, West | Quarterfinals | Round of 16 |
| 2002 | 5th, West | Quarterfinals | Semifinals |
| 2003 | 2nd, West | Semifinals | Round of 16 |
| 2004 | 1st, West | Final | Champions |
| 2005 | 5th, East | Did not qualify | Quarterfinals |
| 2006 | 5th, East | Did not qualify | Round of 16 |
* Won MLS Supporters' Shield
[edit] International competition
- 2001 Copa Merconorte
- 3rd place in Group C
- 2002 CONCACAF Champions Cup
- First Round v. W Connection – 1:0, 2:0 (Wizards win 3:0 on aggregate)
- Quarterfinals v. Santos Laguna – 1:2, 2:0 (Wizards win 3:2 on aggregate)
- Semifinals v. Monarcas Morelia – 1:6, 1:1 (Morelia advances 7:2 on aggregate)
- 2005 CONCACAF Champions Cup
- First Round v. Deportivo Saprissa – 0:0, 2:1 (Saprissa advances 2:1 on aggregate)
[edit] Average attendance
regular season/playoffs
- 1996: 12,878
- 1997: 9,058
- 1998: 8,073
- 1999: 8,183
- 2000: 9,112
- 2001: 10,954
- 2002: 12,255
- 2003: 15,573/10,712
- 2004: 14,819/10,977
- 2005: 9,691/missed playoffs
- 2006: 11,083/missed playoffs
- All-Time: 11,044
[edit] Notes
- ^ Luder, Bob (July 19, 2006). Gansler out as Wizards head coach. Kansas City Star
- ^ a b Luder, Bob (August 31, 2006). Wizards sold to local group, will remain in area. Kansas City Star
- ^ www.bigsoccer.com Thread showing weekly report stating logo change
- ^ Bullers, Finn; Cooper, Brad. "OP mayor pulls his support of stadium", The Kansas City Star, November 12, 2006, retrieved December 23, 2006.
- ^ Wizards set to face Beckham Sept. 27 Kansas City Star, 6 February 2007.
[edit] External links
- Official Homepage
- Official Website of Supporters Section: The Cauldron
- Official MySpace Page of Supporters Section: The Cauldron
- Official Wizards board, courtesy of BigSoccer
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Eastern Conference |
Western Conference |
| Former teams | On hiatus |
|---|---|
 Miami Fusion •  Tampa Bay Mutiny |
 San Jose Earthquakes |
| Miscellaneous | |
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MLS Cup • All-Star Game • SuperLiga • USSF • CSA • Central Division • U.S. Open Cup |
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