Sporting Kansas City will kick off the club’s 2016 season at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 6, at CenturyLink Field against Seattle Sounders FC in a nationally televised match on FS1, Major League Soccer announced Tuesday.

Six days later, the team will open its home schedule on Saturday, March 12, against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Children’s Mercy Park. MLS will announce the full 2016 regular season schedule on Thursday, Jan. 7. Tickets for Sporting Kansas City’s home opener — as well as other single-game tickets at Children's Mercy Park — will be released at a later date.

Individuals who place deposits for season tickets or group tickets for the 2016 season will receive priority consideration for obtaining single-game tickets to Sporting Kansas City home matches in 2016. For more ticket information, call 888-4KC-GOAL.

Major League Soccer’s 21st season will kick off with all 20 teams in action on March 6. Three matches on Opening Day will be televised nationally as the ESPN, FOX Sports and Univision networks enter the second year of an eight-year partnership with MLS.

ESPN will broadcast a 2015 MLS Cup rematch as the Portland Timbers host Columbus Crew SC at 3:30 p.m. CT. Sporting Kansas City and Seattle meet on FS1 before D.C. United visits LA Galaxy in the nightcap at 9 p.m. CT on UniMas.

Sporting Kansas City begins its 34-game regular season in Seattle for the second time in three years, as the clubs squared off in the first MLS match of 2014. In addition to recording a win and two draws against Sounders FC in 2015, Manager Peter Vermes side earned shutouts in all four trips to the Pacific Northwest this past season (Seattle, Portland and Vancouver) with a 2-0-2 record.

Sporting Kansas City’s 2016 curtain raiser features two perennial playoff teams from the Western Conference. Seattle’s seven-year postseason streak is tied for the longest in MLS, while Sporting KC has made five straight playoff appearances since 2011. The clubs have also combined to win six of the previous seven Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles.

In Week 2, Sporting Kansas City will host a Vancouver team that finished second in the Western Conference last season. Sporting KC won both meetings in 2015 — a 1-0 road result and a stunning 4-3 victory at Sporting Park that saw the hosts score three times in the final 10 minutes plus stoppage time to erase a two-goal deficit.

One of 10 MLS charter members, Sporting Kansas City is 12-5-3 in regular season openers — no MLS club has more season-opening victories — and 12-2-6 in home openers dating back to 1996.