KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Wizards General Manager Curt Johnson announced today that the Wizards will begin play in the 2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup at Arrowhead Stadium on Wednesday, March 9th. The Wizards will host Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa in the first leg of the two-leg, first-round series at Arrowhead with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT.
"This is a great way to kickoff our 2005 season," said Johnson. "We are very honored to be a part of this prestigious competition and look forward to facing such a storied franchise as Saprissa. This game in early March will allow our fans a peak at the 2005 Wizards and hopefully we can continue the success we had in the Champions' Cup three years ago."
All tickets to the Wizards Champions' Cup match will be Field Level General Admission. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth (15 and younger) and WILL NOT be included in any season ticket packages. No other discounts will apply.
The Wizards will play the second leg of the two-leg series against Saprissa on Wednesday, March 16th in San Jose, Costa Rica. The winner of the Kansas City-Deportivo Saprissa series, based on aggregate goals, will face the winner of CF Monterrey (Mexico) and CSD Municipal (Guatemala) in the Semifinals beginning in April 2005. D.C. United will take on Harbour View FC (Jamaica) while the final first round pairing features Pumas UNAM (Mexico) against CD Olímpia (Honduras).
The 2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup winner will earn a berth in the 2005 FIFA World Club Championship, a six-team tournament to be held in Japan in December 2005. The champion of each of the six Confederations - CONCACAF (North & Central America & Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), UEFA (Europe), AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa) and OFC (Oceania) - will take part in the World Club Championship.
Kansas City will kickoff the 2005 MLS season on Saturday, April 2nd when they host former Western Conference rivals the Colorado Rapids at Arrowhead Stadium, with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. CT. The reigning Western Conference Champion Wizards will begin their first season in the Eastern Conference, as MLS welcomes two expansion teams, Real Salt Lake and CD Chica USA, to the Western Conference.
Wizards 2005 Season Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Wizards office at 816-920-9300. Individual tickets for all MLS home games will go on sale in March 7th. For more information, log on to www.kcwizards.com or call 816-920-9300.
