With the holidays over, we checked in with Sporting Kansas City’s David Ficklin (VP of Development) for an update on the progress at the National Training and Coaching Development Center. The official ground breaking with partners U.S. Soccer, Sporting KC, Children’s Mercy and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County all turning the ceremonial dirt was back in July.

The will be available to U.S. national teams from senior to youth and also be the state-of-the-art training home for the Sporting Kansas City first team. The site will be home to the U.S. Soccer National Coaching Education Center and the Children’s Mercy Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center. They will offer a wide range of sports medicine services, resources and programming for youth athletes in all sports.

This report is from last week so additional progress has certainly been completed. The previous update was in December.

“The site is full of energy as multiple subcontractors are on site and making great progress,” Ficklin reported. “Foundations are nearing completion, concrete retaining walls are being poured, under-slab plumbing install is going very quickly, the large deep storm water sewer line that will drain the Super Pitch which started this week is already 50% complete, and retaining wall construction around the KCP&L pole at Parallel Parkway has begun.”

“As anticipated, most of the work at the Youth Fields has stopped until early spring, with the concession and restroom building being the exception. The under-slab plumbing and electrical has been completed in anticipation of the floor slab being poured next week,” Ficklin added.

The youth fields are scheduled to be ready for fall of 2017 league play but if the weather cooperates there is a possibility they could open in the spring. The one hang-up is they cannot lay the turf on fields 7 and 8 until the temperature stays above a certain point for long enough to complete the work and that may not be until March or even later.

NTCDC building rendering

2. NTCDC Complex

3. Aerial view looking south.

4. Aerial view showing the foundation of the NTCDC building. The location of the Sporting KC portion can be seen.

5. Some of the detail...

6. The youth soccer complex...

7. Work on the concession and restroom building has continued but laying the turf on fields 7 and 8 will have to wait for consistent weather above a certain temperature.