Sporting Kansas City II Tryouts & Club Guide: History, Stadium, Players, and More!
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Sporting Kansas City II is an MLS Next Pro club affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. SKC II plays its home games at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. They were formerly known as the Swope Park Rangers.
Sporting Kansas City II Youth Development System
At the time of this writing, there is no official academy/trial information for Sporting Kansas City II. Please come back at a later date while we monitor this club or visit their parent club, Sporting Kansas City by clicking here for more information.
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History
The Swope Park Rangers name, colors, and emblem were formally unveiled on October 22, 2015, as the USL’s 30th franchise. SKC’s USL affiliate, the Rangers, took the place of Oklahoma City Energy FC in 2008 and was given the name “Rangers” after the reserve team’s nickname. Sporting Kansas City has collaborated with Orlando City SC and Oklahoma City Energy FC in the past, making this the club’s third USL affiliate. November 20, 2015 was the day that Marc Dos Santos was named the first head coach of the New York Rangers.
A 14–10–6 record and a fourth-place finish in the Western Conference capped off the Rangers’ debut season in 2016. The team became only the second in USL history to advance to the Cup Final in its first season. The Rangers defeated LA Galaxy II, Orange County SC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on their way to the final, where they lost 5-1 to New York Red Bulls II. Sporting Kansas City signed goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas and winger Tyler Pasher at the end of the season.
Marc Dos Santos left after the 2016 season to become the head coach of the San Francisco Deltas, a newly formed NASL team. Nikola Popovic, his assistant for the 2016 season, assumed control of the team for the 2017 campaign. Popovic guided the club to another fourth-place finish and a record of 17–8–7 in the West. Four more SPR players were added to Sporting KC’s roster in 2017: Amer Didic, James Musa, Kharlton Belmar, and Kevin Oliveira. Despite leading Swope Park to their second consecutive conference championship, Popovic resigned as head coach on November 17, 2017. Prior to the 2020 USL Championship season, the team announced its rebranding as Sporting Kansas City II on September 30, 2019.
Stadium
Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City hosts the team’s home games. For the 2016 and 2017 USL seasons, the Kansas City Rangers’ home venue was the Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri, while some matches were held at Children’s Mercy Park. For the 2018 season, the Rangers moved their home USL matches to Shawnee Mission District Stadium in Overland Park, Kansas. Because Swope Soccer Village did not meet the new USL stadium rules, which required at least 5,000 seats, the team was forced to relocate to Shawnee Mission South District Stadium.
By spring 2017, upgrades to the 6,500-seat Shawnee Mission South District Stadium had totaled $6 million. The Rangers announced that all home matches for the remainder of the 2018 USL season would be transferred to Children’s Mercy Park after just two games. It was just a matter of days before Shawnee Mission South’s artificial-turf field was accused of having difficulties.
