Major League Soccer announced today that Kansas City will be the host city for the 2013 MLS All-Star Game. The annual showcase event will feature three days of festivities, culminating in a match between the League’s top players and a renowned international club on Wednesday, July 31 at Sporting Park, home of Sporting Kansas City.

The 2013 MLS All-Star Game will be broadcast live at 8 PM C.T. on the ESPN, Univision, TSN and RDS family of networks. Exact networks will be announced at a later date.

Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes, a finalist for MLS Coach of the Year each of the last two seasons, will coach the 2013 MLS All-Stars.

“I am very excited for Kansas City to host the 2013 MLS All-Star Game," Vermes said. "It will be another great event to showcase our fans and stadium. Soccer is now such an important piece in the fabric of our great city and an All-Star Game and its festivities surrounding it will be first class. I am honored to be named as the coach and be a part of displaying the tremendous talent of Major League Soccer players.”

The 2013 All-Star Game will mark the tenth time that an elite international club has played the MLS All-Stars, who are 6-2-1 in those matches. In addition to honoring the best players in MLS, the game has featured successful, world-famous clubs such as Manchester United (2010 & 2011), Everton FC (2009), Chelsea FC (2006 & 2012), and Chivas de Guadalajara (2003). The opponent for this year’s game will be announced at a later date.

Since opening in June of 2011, Sporting Park has hosted Sporting Kansas City’s full home schedule -- selling out 17 of the 18 MLS games in 2012 -- the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Championship, the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying semifinals and championship, both the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams and international friendlies, as well as concerts such as FarmAid and Journey.

The stadium’s inaugural season saw Sporting Park receive recognition locally, nationally and internationally, garnering many awards for venue, fan experience and technology. In 2012, Sporting Park was also recognized at TheStadiumBusiness Awards in Turin, Italy, receiving the highly acclaimed Venue of the Year award and the Product Innovation Award. The state-of-art venue was also nominated for facility of the year by the Sports Business Awards.

Sporting Kansas City full season ticket members will have priority access to tickets for the 2013 MLS All-Star Game before they go on sale to the general public, starting Friday, January 11th at 10AM CT. Visa card members will have the ability to purchase tickets starting Thursday, January 31st at 10AM CT. General public will have the ability to purchase tickets starting Friday, February 8th at 10AM CT. For more information on how to become a season ticket member call 888-4KC-GOAL or visit www.sportingkc.com.