MLS Thursday officially announced that K.C.'s Livestrong Sporting Park will host the league's All-Star Game on July 31, allowing the city to “take a turn in the national sports spotlight for the second straight summer," according to Tod Palmer of the K.C. STAR. MLB’s All-Star Game last year was played at Kauffman Stadium. The MLS game will be “broadcast on ESPN and Univision and shown in more than 100 countries.” Sporting K.C. CEO Robb Heineman said, “With all due respect to our (All-Star Game), I’m not sure it will be quite the pomp and circumstance that baseball had obviously, but I think we’ll do a heck of a job,” K.C. Mayor Joe Reardon said, “To be able to bring this MLS All-Star Game here and really highlight how engaged Kansas City is with soccer, I think it’s a phenomenal opportunity. It’s going to be great.” MLS Commissioner Don Garber: “This has been one of the great success stories for our sport. We’re very proud of what’s taken place here” (K.C. STAR, 1/11). Garber added, “This market has just been so incredibly exciting for all of us at Major League Soccer, and really for soccer fans throughout the United States and North America.” The AP’s Dave Skretta noted in the past few years, MLS has “brought its All-Star games to the smaller, soccer-specific stadiums that have popped up in its markets across the country” (AP, 1/10).
