Sports in the Kansas City metropolitan area
{{Short description|Overview of sports in Kansas City metropolitan area}}
{{Refimprove|date=September 2015}}
The Kansas City metropolitan area has a long history of sports, which has included national championship teams and championship title events.
Image:Truman Sports Complex 2.jpg, in the 1972 and 1973 sports seasons.]]
Major professional teams
| class="wikitable" |
| Club
!Sport !League !Founded !Venue !Titles |
|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs
| align=center | 1960 | align=center | 7* |
| Kansas City Royals
| align=center | 1969 | align=center | 2 |
| Sporting Kansas City
| align=center | 1996 | align=center | 2 |
| Kansas City Current
| Soccer | National Women's Soccer League | align=center | 2020 | align=center | 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|date=November 2014}} 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.
Major league professional championships
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{{Col-break}}
=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.
=Kansas City Royals (MLB)=
=Kansas City Monarchs (NNL/NAL)=
=Kansas City Spurs (NASL)=
1 NASL title
=Sporting Kansas City (MLS)=
=FC Kansas City (NWSL)=
Other current teams
| class="wikitable" |
| Club
!Sport !Founded !League !Venue |
|---|
| Kansas City Comets
|2010 |
| Kansas City Mavericks
|2009 |ECHL |
| Kansas City Monarchs
| Baseball | 2003 |
| Sporting Kansas City II
| Soccer | 2016 |
| Kansas City Grillers
|2018 |
| Kansas City Goats
|2023 |
| Kansas City Force
|2020 |
{{notelist|group=other}}
College sports
| class="wikitable" |
| Program
! School ! Location ! Division ! Primary conference |
|---|
| Kansas City Roos
| {{sort|Missouri Kansas City|University of Missouri–Kansas City}} | {{sort|1 NCAA|NCAA Division I}} |
| Rockhurst Hawks
| {{sort|2 NCAA|NCAA Division II}} |
| William Jewell Cardinals
| | {{sort|2 NCAA|NCAA Division II}} |
| Avila Eagles
| NAIA |
| Baker Wildcats
| NAIA |
| MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers
| MidAmerica Nazarene University | NAIA |
| Park Pirates
| NAIA |
| Saint Mary Spires
| NAIA |
Past teams
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,{{cite web|url=http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/hockey/nhlhistory/nhlhistory.html|title=National Hockey League (NHL) Expansion History|access-date=August 30, 2006|publisher=Rauzulu's Street}} 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.
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Club
!Sport !Years of Operation !League !Venue !Fate |
|---|
| FC Kansas City
|2013–2017 |National Women's Soccer League |Children's Mercy Victory Field |Folded and roster transferred to Utah Royals FC. The latter team folded after the 2020 season and its roster was transferred to Kansas City NWSL, now known as the Kansas City Current |
| Kansas City Athletics
|1955–1967 |Moved to Oakland |
| Kansas City Attack/Comets
|1991–2005 |National Professional Soccer League (1991–2001); |Municipal Auditorium, Kemper Arena |Suspended operations for 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons |
| Kansas City Blades
|1990–2001 |League folded |
| Kansas City Blue Stockings
|Baseball |1902–1903 |Sportsman's Park |Franchise folded |
| Kansas City Blues
|Baseball |1887–1901 |Western League/Western Association/American League (1900) |Became the Washington Senators, now Minnesota Twins |
| Kansas City Blues
|Baseball |1902–1954 |American Association (1902–1997) |Moved to Colorado, now the Wichita Wind Surge (TL) |
| Kansas City Blues/Cowboys
|1924–1926 | |Team folded |
| Kansas City Comets
|Indoor soccer |1981–1991 |Team folded |
| Kansas City Command
|2006–2012 |Team folded |
| Kansas City Cowboys
|Baseball |1884 |League folded; team moved to the minor league Western League |
| Kansas City Cowboys
|Baseball |1886 |National League (1886) |Team folded; players sold to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys |
| Kansas City Cowboys
|Baseball |1888–1889 |American Association (1888–89) |Team folded |
| Kansas City Explorers
|1993–2012 |Moved to Irving, Texas, and became the Texas Wild |
| Kansas City Giants
|Baseball |1909–1911 |Western Independent Clubs |Riverside Park |Team folded |
| Kansas City Kings
|1972–1985 |National Basketball Association |Municipal Auditorium, Kemper Arena |Moved to Sacramento |
| Kansas City Knights
|Basketball |2000–2005 |American Basketball Association |Suspended operations for 2005–06 season |
| Kansas City Maroons
|Baseball |1887–1890 |Negro leagues / Barnstorming |Team folded |
| Kansas City Monarchs
|Baseball |1920–1955 |Negro National League (1920–1930), |Became full-time barnstorming team until 1965. Not related to the current Kansas City Monarchs, which renamed itself from T-Bones in 2021 in honor of the Negro leagues team. |
| Kansas City Mustangs
|1992–1996 |WBA-Kansas Crusaders (1992–1994), |League folded |
| Kansas City Outlaws
|Ice hockey |2004–2005 |Team folded |
| Kansas City Packers
|Baseball |1914-1915 |League folded |
| Kansas City Phantoms
|2017–2018 |Silverstein Eye Centers Arena |Team folded |
| Kansas City Renegades
|2013 |Champions Professional Indoor Football League |Team folded |
| Kansas City Royal Giants
|Baseball |1910–1912 |Western Independent Clubs |Shelley Park |Team folded |
| Kansas City Scouts
|Ice hockey |1974–1976 |Moved to Colorado; now the New Jersey Devils |
| Kansas City Spurs
|1968–1970 |Team folded |
| Kansas City Steers
|Basketball |1961–1963 |League folded |
| Kansas City Tornadoes
|Basketball |2018–2019 |Folded |
File:Jackie Robinson Kansas City Monarchs.jpg during his stint in the Negro leagues with the Kansas City Monarchs]]
Sporting events
- Kansas City is in Missouri. often the home of the Big 12 Basketball Tournaments. The men's tournament is played at T-Mobile Center, while the women's tournament has often played at Municipal Auditorium. Lately newer arenas in Dallas and Oklahoma City have hosted both tournaments.
- Arrowhead Stadium serves as the venue for various intercollegiate football games. Often it was the host of the Big 12 Football Title Game. On the last weekend in October, the Fall Classic rivalry game between Northwest Missouri State University and Pittsburg State University takes place here. Usually, the Bearcats of Northwest and Gorillas of Pitt State are ranked one-two in the MIAA conference. In 2005, other games at Arrowhead included Arkansas State playing host to Missouri, and Kansas hosting Oklahoma. The stadium will be one of eleven venues in the US to host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
- Kansas Speedway, located in Kansas City, Kansas, hosts many auto racing events, including two NASCAR race weekends with the Cup Series and Truck Series in the spring and the Cup Series and Xfinity Series in the fall. The track formerly hosted a race in the IndyCar Series.
- Kansas City has also hosted the 1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the 2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Kauffman Stadium as well as the 2013 MLS All-Star Game at the venue now known as Children's Mercy Park. In 2006, Kansas City was awarded Super Bowl XLIX, but a vote for a rolling roof to be put over Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums was voted down, eliminating that possibility.
- Children's Mercy Park hosted the 2013 MLS Cup Final, with Sporting KC defeating Real Salt Lake in penalty kicks
- Kansas City hosted the 2023 NFL draft. The draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station from April 27 to April 29, 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitkc.com/draft|title=2023 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light|date=July 25, 2022|website=www.visitkc.com}} The event site was 3.1 million square feet.{{Cite web|url=https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/news/why-the-2023-nfl-draft-in-kansas-city-is-the-biggest-draft-site-ever|title=Why The 2023 NFL Draft In Kansas City Is The Biggest Draft Site Ever|first=Ric|last=Serritella|date=April 26, 2023|website=Visit NFL Draft on Sports Illustrated, the latest news coverage, with rankings for NFL Draft prospects, College Football, Dynasty and Devy Fantasy Football.}}
Sports headquarters
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.