Staying stateside, our next instalment of our 'Residence' series takes us on a journey to 'Sporting Park', home of Sporting Kansas City. Awe-inspired architecture that punches so many striking features, it's a metropolis of footballing goodness.
'Children's Mercy Park', this is a stadium with many a name. Fans opting to call it "The Blue Hell" and the "Home of the Brave", it's a plethora of diverse sights and a clinical finish that is beautifully fresh and thought out. Sitting down and taking this place in, it's clearly been well worked ― not simply going for scale, the size is almost irrelevent, it's been designed to provide the best possible experience for its fans and is a modern stadium that beautifully breaks the mould. No need for statements in stature, it's more about quality in the ambiance.
A maximum attendance of 21,000 for football, it's an amphitheatre for winning Saturdays. Opened in 2011, as well as a shimmering spectacle to call home for Sporting Kansas City, it has become a regular location for matches that range from Olympic Qualifiers to the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Kit rooms, boot walls and elite recovery treatment rooms, we've taken in the sights on this one. Every detail has been perfected with a finite finish here. On one wall there's instructions on what players can and can't wear while on another we're looking at Nike CTR360's right through to adidas ACE and X. A footballing dreamland that is pride of place in an MLS with oozing character, it's undoubtedly a must visit. Many thanks to Sporting Kansas City for opening up the doors to us pre-match.
Photography: Christian Gideon for SoccerBible
