The Kansas City Wizards stadium project cleared its final hurdles on Tuesday night after funding for the project was approved by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, Kansas.
The vote clears the way for construction to begin today on a stadium that will be the crown jewel of a $400 million development project in Kansas City, Kansas. The Wizards expect to be playing in their new stadium at some point during the 2011 season. The stadium will be the 10th built by an MLS team.
On the field, the identity of one of the two international players we have linked to moves to Kansas City was revealed. The Back Post reported that Guadeloupe national team captain Stephane Auvray will be joining the Wizards. A tenacious central midfielder who can provide bite as well as attacking elements, Auvray should help bolster a Wizards midfield that includes Jack Jewsbury and Davy Arnaud.
So who is the second international player slated to join the Wizards? Sources have told SBI that Colombian defender Pablo Escobar will be joining the Wizards upon receipt of his international clearance. Escobar was one of three Colombian defenders signed by Major League Soccer last month.
Here are some other stories to get your Wednesday going:
Fire set to make international additions
Fresh off a strong performance at the MLS Draft, the Chicago Fire looks set to bolster its roster even further with the addition of two foreign players. Reports out of Poland have linked the Fire to a loan move for Polish fullback Krzysztof Król while the arrival of Salvadoran midfielder Julio Martinez is expected in the coming days.
Krol is projected to take over as the Fire's starting left back, replacing Cyprus-bound Gonzalo Segares, while Martinez is expected to take over on the right wing for Denmark-bound Chris Rolfe.
The Fire isn't done. Reports have linked Chicago to Dutch striker Collins John, a former strike partner of Brian McBride at Fulham. Sources tell SBI that the Fire is in serious talks with John, who would not count as a Designated Player.
Chivas USA extends loans on Padilla, Cuesta and Santos
New Chivas USA head coach Martin Vasquez is likely to shake up his roster, but three players who won't be leaving just yet are forwards Jesus Padilla and Maicon Santos and defender Yamith Cuesta. All three had their loan deals with Chivas USA extended on Tuesday.
All three players served key roles in helping Chivas USA overcome a mid-season slump to reach the MLS playoffs.
One player who is leaving is Paulo Nagamura, who moved to Mexican side Tigres on a free transfer after three seasons with Chivas USA. Nagamura's departure was no surprise to Chivas USA, which drafted midfielder Blair Gavin to help compensate for Nagamura's departure.
Clarifying the Philly-D.C. United trade
There was a bit of confusion regarding the details of the Philadelphia Union's deal with D.C. United last week that gave D.C. the Union's top spot in the MLS Allocation order. While it was not mentioned in the details of the deal, Philadelphia did, in fact, swap Allocation Order places with D.C. United in the trade. Philadelphia now holds the No. 6 spot in the MLS Allocation Order.
Why is this significant? The Union has been linked to a move for defender Michael Orozco and sources have told SBI that if Orozco does sign with MLS he will go through the Allocation Order process as a U.S. national team pool player.
Orozco isn't the only American player who could be selected via the Allocation Order in the coming days and weeks. Midfielder Lee Nguyen has been linked to a move to MLS, with FC Dallas the team most likely to sign the former PSV winger (UPDATE- According to Nguyen's Twitter account, he is heading back to Vietnam after failing to reach an agreement on a deal with MLS).
As for D.C. United? It holds the last place in the Allocation Order until another team selects a player via the allocation process.
Here is the current Allocation Order:
1. New York Red Bulls
2. San Jose Earthquakes
3. Kansas City Wizards
4. Toronto FC
5. FC Dallas
6. Philadelphia Union
7. Colorado Rapids
8. New England Revolution
9. Chivas USA
10. Seattle Sounders
11. Columbus Crew
12. Chicago Fire
13. Houston Dynamo
14. Los Angeles Galaxy
15. Real Salt Lake
16. D.C. United
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What do you think of these developments? Can you believe MLS will be building a 10th soccer-specific stadium? Impressed with what the Chicago Fire is doing with its roster? Wondering when Vasquez will make some new additions to the Chivas USA squad?
Share your thoughts below.
These SSS’s will eventually kill MLS. Waay out in the suburbs, they’ll bring the yuppies and rugrats, but the die-hards feel out of place. Toronto and Seattle are the future (unless Seattle builds a SSS out in Sammamish).
And we are know as a wheat state numbskull, Nebraska is the corn state (Huskers ring a bell?), though I think Iowa produces the most corn.
But is the most arrogant punk with no desire to train… terrible fitness etc… be prepared for Denilson #2 only not as skilled.
(UPDATE- According to Nguyen’s Twitter account, he is heading back to Vietnam after failing to reach an agreement on a deal with MLS).
HEY SCHELLAS,
Should have just kept that #6 pick to draft Corben Bone,
hope Ferreira or Dax don’t get hurt!
Looooooved Kansas’ soccer specific t-shirts they released a couple months back. Really wish I had gotten one. If anyone knows where you can find them, please help me out!
close access to water rich in PCBs, chlordane, mercury, dioxin and DDT is always a plus
Moronic decision from a guy who thinks he’s bigger than himself. Left Vietnam in the most unprofessional of ways to come here hoping we would pony up large sums of money for his salary. We told the little boy, playing the last bit of your career at Vietnam means teams can hardly gauge how well you can play which means they can’t be arsed to risk it. Instead of biting the bullet, playing in a better league, and potentially gaining the contract he wants in a couple years – he runs back to the league he screwed over…. His playing generation does come across as whinging babies when they can’t get what they want..
And since I have your ear…
Any comments on the Raul to NY rumor?
NY, Seattle and Dallas all wanted him. I’m assuming “anything worth coming back for” means salary.
Regardless of his recent form, 20 EPL goals is good enough…not to mention leading Fulham for a season. He will settle quickly and will be in the Conor Casey mold, but with better feet.
Why wouldnt a team at the top of the list lay claim to a player in order to nudge a trade/$$ from a team who wants the player?
Word.
try 1.5 hours. I live in Fort Worth (pop. 1 million) and we all have to drive close to 2 hours to get there as opposed to 45 min to Dallas.
Which is easily an hour to an hour and a half drive each way. It’s too bad they couldn’t afford the Cotton bowl. Average attendance back in those days was 14,000 and with the DART green line bringing public transportation to the area, I can only imagine that that figure would explode. In 2030, after 300 miles of DART expansion, it still won’t even get near pizza hut park. PHP is IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. As for “fast growing suburbs” every time I go, I feel like I’m in disneyland. 8,000 of the average attendance must be the brats that run up and down the stairs the whole game. Their parents are screaming at them the whole game. Maybe I should check out the supporter section…
As far as the DFW metroplex is concerned, Frisco is in Oklahoma, it also doesn’t help that you have to pay a toll to even drive there.
Lots of places in the middle of nowhere are growing fast.
I had to drive out to PHP to play my league games when they switched them from the Richland College fields. It sucked.
DALLAS BURN FOR LIFE,
seriously though, the atmosphere at the Cotton Bowl was better, as far as fans, you move the stadium out to Frisco w/ a tollroad, and you lose a lot the fans you had at the Cotton Bowl.
I think in the long term as the area grows it will be a good move, but I’m talking 10-12 years down the road.
I do like Pizza Hut Park, its a great stadium, but in a bad location for the area. IMO.
I drive 2 hours for Red Bull games, I wish I had a team only 30 mins away. FCD front office just aren’t doing their jobs.
From what I know of KC it’s by no means right in th emiddle of everything, but it’s not far either. Plus it’s easily accessible on the interstate which helps a lot.
Why are some players not considered “DP’s” (ie: Dutch striker Collins John)
Why are players already linked to teams in the MLS Allocation, when there are plenty of teams ABOVE them in the order. Why couldn’t Nygen & Orozc go to:
1. New York Red Bulls
2. San Jose Earthquakes
3. Kansas City Wizards
4. Toronto FC
Veeeeery confusin!
(SBI-Not really confusing at all. If John isn’t a DP it’s because Chicago has convinced him to play for 400K or less. Players who should go via allocation are already linked to players because usually there’s a specific team that deals with a player and then that team has to make the deal to get in position to select him. That is assuming the teams at the top of the order are even interested. Teams can’t just block an allocation move, they either have to select the player, trade their slot, or pass. For example, I don’t think New York is interested in Orozco, so if they don’t want him and there aren’t other teams in the mix for him who might be willing to trade up to beat Philly to the punch, then NY can pass.
Still confused?)
Lee Nguyen via twitter:
“back to vietnam yall .. wasnt able to get anything worth coming back for from the league disappointed but gotta look forward”
Looks like he’s not going to FC Dallas after all. Too bad. He would have been a nice signing for MLS and for that franchise/fan base.
Collins John…that name brings me back to playing FIFA and managing Fulham back in the day. What on earth happened to him in the last few seasons?
I’m pumped for Kansas City. Living in DC and having to deal the city council, I live vicariously through other teams when they get stadiums. I’ll be making every road trip to Philly and New York this year for the DC games.
I fear, once again, that Chivas USA will be limited by a small purse to spend on center backs, back up goal keepers, and a replacement for Nagamura.
Because it’s a rat-infested, crumbling ruin? With lousy sight-lines and seats too far from the field? Because the team doesn’t have that kind of money? Because the city hasn’t ponied up the kind of money the team needs for a new stadium or remodeled RFK? Because city politicians really want to tear it down and build the Redskins a gleaming new 90,000-seat palace?
GREAT news about Dempsey.
Congrats to the Wizards and for all MLS fans that enjoy a good atmosphere.
DC Josh – We got the top pick from the Union then used it to claim Troy Perkins last week so we are now last and will move up as every team picks in front of us unless we do another trade.
Sorry, completely forget about picking up Troy Perkins.
DC used their top allocation spot to grab Perkins.
So now they’re last.
in the trade they switched spots in the allocation order, so Philly got DC’s spot and DC got Philly’s so that means DC is last
Jackass…no cornfields, just tons of retail, restaurants, and hotels. And oh, there is a also a NASCAR track next door as well. This is in the same development as CAB is now, just down the street.
if only it were that simple, DC won’t let them do anything to RFK b/c they are hoping that Dan Snyder will get tired of FedEx field and build his own stadium in DC where RFK is now, doubtful the Redskins/Snyder will care to have the inconvenience of the United
yes unfortunately that we probably be to much to ask considering it is Washington DC. It is pretty hard for teams from Houston, New York, and Dallas to get downtown stadiums. So it will probably be impossible in DC
So the traded top allocation spot won’t go to DC until one US player is picked up? That doesn’t make any sense. Philly traded their top allocation pick to DC, DC should be sitting in pole position right now, not LAST.
(SBI-You can’t trade away your allocation spot, you can only trade to swap spots with another team. D.C. is last because it traded to move into Philly’s spot (No. 1) and then used it. Once you use your allocation spot, you go back to the bottom. D.C. can always move back up by trading with a team at or near the top.)
I have pushed the DC stadium debacle out of my mind. Just too disappointing. Why doesn’t DCU just remodel RFK? Baseball is never going to be played there again. They can tarp off the upper deck like Seattle for league games and open it up for USMNT matches or MLS Cup.
Time and time again teams have thought they’d turn out the ethnic communities in their city by picking up a national team playr from that country. And time and time again it failed if that player wasn’t named Blanco. For years the Rapids tried to woo the Asian-American community of Denver to no avail.
Totally agree. It was not in the middle of nowhere the first season or two when they were drawing good crowds.
Uhm… it’s called corn. It’s what feeds you city boys and once fueled our entire economy.
It’s 30 miles outside of Dallas.
some day I hope to see a picture like that in downtown DC, is that too much to ask??
Chicago, from a marketing stand point, may be one of the BEST teams in the league. They play to the ethnic diversity of Chicago perfectly. The Polish community will go nuts for Król.
yeah, the “middle of nowhere” is just a nice excuse for why FCD can’t draw a crowd to save their lives.
Pablo Escobar – that’s awesome.
Congrats to Wizards fans. They had to go through some rough years and have earned this good news.
Now if they can just get their heads out of their collective arses down in Houston.
The picture looks alot like red bull arena if that’s is the stadium plan.
What are those cornfields behind the KC stadium- I think I’ll stick with my new Union stadium with the Deleware River as my backdrop…however, KC might have us beat because they probably don’t have to worry about the neighborhood surrounding their stadium. Go Union!
Collins is a high risk, high rewards type of player. We always have Nyarko and Lowry to fill the void if worst comes to worst.
These signings have been talked to death on many forums. Still its good to see the attention and respect given to the moves we are making. Hopefully we’ll see some good payouts this season. Winning anything will be a step in the right direction
So the Wizards are getting a Colombian named Pablo Escobar? Hmmmm……
Naaaa…..too easy. 😉
Pizza Hut Park is hardly in the “middle of nowhere”. It is in Frisco the fastest growing suburb of Dallas.
here’s a link to a a dutch soccer site also reporting the potential signing of Collins John. http://bit.ly/7yMkBr Not sure if its a good move. He has not done well at the last three clubs he was at. Feels similar to the Victor Sikora situation and that did not work well for Dallas.
I think the Fire moves look good, and they continue to look in Poland for there tallent. If the Fire can get all 3 players, the team will look good for the new season.
Now I just wish I would hear some news on the Red Bulls making a siging or 2.
Another SSS is a good thing – and it looks like a nice stadium. I hope it is somewhere somewhat close to major population centers and isn’t in the middle of nowhere like Pizza Hut Park.
As a Fire fan, I’m glad they are re-tooling with what appears to be some solid young players. I’m not so sure on the Collins John link, but at the same time the best year he ever had was at Fulham, when his strike partner was Brian McBride.
We, the Fire, will be better this year than last year. This season will not be considered a rebuilding year. Now, hopefully, without Blanco we can actually have an attack and play some free flowing football like we should have been doing the past couple years with the teams we had. Klopas is on fire this season, no pun intended…
When does the MLS schedule come out?