Know Before You Go: Sporting KC vs Inter Miami CF Tomorrow at Children’s Mercy Park for round one of the Concacaf Champions Cup
Wednesday, Feb 19, 2025, 10:06 AM
Whether it’s your first time at Children’s Mercy Park or a season regular, here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Sporting KC vs Inter Miami CF on Wednesday!
Sporting Kansas City will face Inter Miami CF in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup at Children’s Mercy Park on Wednesday, February 19, at 7:00 p.m. CT!
To help combat the temperatures at tonight’s game we have set up additional heaters in the concourse and fans are encouraged to bring blankets as well as cardboard to stand on. Our canopy roof shields fans from some elements, if you need it, our retail stores will be stocked with cold weather gear, and our guest service locations will have complimentary hand warmers available by request. There are also Shield club tickets still available for purchase.
Please be advised. Children’s Mercy Park uses various pyrotechnics and strobe lighting effects, which may be unsuitable for individuals with certain medical conditions or light sensitivity.
Supporter Stand ticket holders and Season Ticket Members are encouraged to hang out in the Budweiser Brew House for prematch specials and to welcome the players as they arrive at Children’s Mercy Park.
“United by the Divide.” Sporting KC’s One KC kit combines the classic hoop design with a Stateline twist. Shop the One KC kit online or in-person at the match tonight.
SPORTINGSTYLE x AMAZON JUST WALK OUT
While in the stadium, be sure to check out our Amazon Just Walk Out technology in one of our SportingStyle stores! This technology is only featured at the SportingStyle store located on the east side of the building at the top of section 131 and is now the exclusive way to check out for this store location.
With Amazon Just Walk Out technology, you get to self-service shop! Grab whatever you want to purchase, swipe your card at the kiosk, and get on your way. It’s that simple – no more checkout lines! No pre-registration or Amazon account needed for purchase. Please note that Sporting Pay is not accepted at this SportingStyle store location. To learn more, click here.
The official Sporting KC Matchday Guide has everything you need to know about experiencing a match at Children’s Mercy Park! Explore it now exclusively on Apple Maps.
Entry
New and improved Google Fiber Fast Lanes have been installed at Children’s Mercy Park this season – making entry safe and easy! To simplify the entry process, we encourage fans to not bring bags to the stadium. If you plan to bring a bag, please note the clear bag policy. All bags are subject to search.
Tickets
Sporting KC tickets are mobile-only and can be managed through your SeatGeek Account Manager. Speed up entry process by having your digital tickets ready prior to arriving at the gate – tickets will now be scanned_ before_ you go through security when entering the stadium. Please note that screen shots of tickets will no longer be accepted. We highly recommend transferring tickets to each member of your party prior to entry to speed up entry.
Parking
All parking information can be found at SportingKC.com/Stadium/Parking.
Cashless Facility
For all transactions in the building, cash is no longer accepted. Mobile ordering is available for Sporting Style merchandise and all concessions locations using the Sporting KC app.
Clear Bags
If you bring a bag to the stadium, it must be clear. Clear bags measuring 12” x 12” x 6” or smaller may be permitted after a thorough inspection by stadium security staff. Fans should be prepared to open their bags for inspection and may be asked by security associates to shift and possibly remove the contents. All bags are subject to search and this inspection is considered a condition of entry.
Fans that need to bring a medical bag or a diaper bag, when accompanied by a baby or small child, will be subject to the same inspection procedures. These bags will be searched and tagged by security after screening. Backpacks (Including purse backpacks, clear backpacks, or drawstring/cinch bags of any kind or size) are not permitted inside Children’s Mercy Park. Small clutch purses measuring 4.5” x 6.5” or smaller may be permitted after a thorough inspection by stadium security associates.
Supporter Stand
Please note, opposing team colors and gear are NOT permitted in the Supporters Stand. Wearing an opposing team’s gear will result in your seats being relocated to an alternate section at Children’s Mercy Park.
Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco
Smoking (including e-cigarettes) and smokeless tobacco are not allowed anywhere at Children’s Mercy Park.
For any other stadium information, including protocols, accommodations, and more, please visit the Children’s Mercy Park A-Z Guide.
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CONCACAF Champions Cup: Lionel Messi scores in frigid KC
Frigid weather didn’t keep Lionel Messi from scoring in Inter Miami’s first game of 2025, a 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday at Kansas City, Kan., in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup opening-round series.
Depending on the source, the game-time temperature was either 7 degrees F or 9 degrees F, with a wind-chill factor below zero. The game was played a day later than originally scheduled due to the weather.
The two-match, total-goals series will conclude Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
In the 56th minute, Sergio Busquets lofted a pass from the midfield to Messi, who was running into the penalty area. Messi brought the ball down with his chest, took a touch to slide around a defender, then rolled a right-footed shot into the far corner of the net.
Sounders 3, Antigua 1
Second-half goals from Pedro de la Vega and Albert Rusnak lifted Seattle to a victory at Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala.
de la Vega’s 30-yard, right-footed strike found the top right corner in the 61st minute to snap a 1-1 halftime tie. Rusnak clinched the victory in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, rolling in a goal from 12 yards, capping an impressive team attack that followed an Antigua giveaway at midfield.
Seattle’s Paul Arriola opened the scoring in the third minute before Oscar Santis equalized for Antigua in the 24th minute.
The teams will conclude the series in Seattle on Feb. 26.
Real Salt Lake 0, Herediano 0
Rafael Cabral made five saves while leading Real Salt Lake to a scoreless draw against Herediano at San Jose, Costa Rica.
The second leg is scheduled for Feb. 26 in Sandy, Utah. The victor will advance to oppose the reigning MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy in the round of 16.
Herediano goalie Dany Carvajal was needed for just two saves as his team finished with an 18-7 edge in total shots. The game’s three yellow cards were all shown to players on the Costa Rican side.
–Field Level Media
Copyright 2025
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The “Cold Weather Advisory” warns anyone in Kansas City that “dangerously cold wind chills as low as 20 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.” And yet, on Wednesday night, with forecasted temperatures dipping below 4 degrees Fahrenheit, Sporting Kansas City and Inter Miami are scheduled to play a soccer game.
They were originally set to open their seasons Tuesday in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, but snow in Kansas City led to a one-day postponement. On Wednesday, however, it could be even colder. At 7 p.m., when the match is slated to kick off, the forecasted wind chill is -9 degrees; by 9 p.m., it could fall to -11.
It will be colder than any game in Major League Soccer’s 29-year history and perhaps one of the coldest soccer games ever recorded, anywhere.
And it has prompted a raft of questions, including: Will Lionel Messi, Miami’s peerless star, participate?
Inter head coach Javier Mascherano assured reporters Monday that Messi is “100% available,” no matter the weather. “I can assure you that Leo will play,” Mascherano said.
But, with the game rescheduled from Tuesday to Wednesday, Inter Miami rearranged its plans and is now scheduled to travel to Kansas City on Wednesday morning, a source familiar with the plans told Yahoo Sports. Naturally, fans are skeptical that Messi will join his teammates. And some are questioning whether the game should happen at all.
CONCACAF, the North and Central American soccer governing body that runs the Champions Cup, made the original decision to reschedule the match from Tuesday to Wednesday “due to adverse weather conditions expected to impact the Kansas City metropolitan area in the next 24 hours, including significant snow accumulation,” it said in a Monday statement.
“The decision,” it added, was “made to prioritize player and fan safety, and in close coordination with the two participating clubs and the local authorities.”
On Wednesday, snow is less of a worry. It is expected to stop falling late Tuesday night. And the underground heating system at Children’s Mercy Park should make Sporting KC’s field playable.
The worry, instead, is hypothermia, or frostbite, and other health issues — from illness to standard injuries — that might stem from the extreme cold.
FIFPRO, an umbrella group representing players’ unions across the soccer globe, “recommends that training and matches be canceled and rescheduled when the air temperature is less than -15 Celsius [5 degrees Fahrenheit] and when the Wind Chill Temperature is less than -27 Celsius [-16.6 degrees Fahrenheit].”
But there are no CONCACAF or FIFA rules that account for cold temperatures. In Kansas City, there is an expectation that the game will go ahead as (re)planned — in part because there is no room for further postponement on the schedule. This is the first leg of a two-leg knockout matchup. The second leg is set for next Tuesday. And for the winner, the first leg of the following round is the week after that. On weekends, beginning Saturday, there are MLS matches. (Miami’s league opener, originally set for Saturday at 2:30 p.m., has been pushed back to 7:30 p.m. to accommodate CONCACAF’s 24-hour postponement.)
The only viable workaround would have been for Inter Miami to agree to host the first leg and travel to Kansas City for the second leg next week — when KC temperatures will rise back to normal, all the way into the 50s. But now, it is too late to flip the legs. (When asked to confirm that the club was offered this option, and to explain why that switch didn’t happen, Inter Miami spokespeople did not respond to messages. CONCACAF also did not respond to emails seeking comment.)
There are no rules in part because there is very little precedent for soccer in such cold weather. Most leagues in countries with frigid winters, such as those in Scandinavia and Russia, break for January and February. MLS seasons end in early December and begin in late February, thereby avoiding the worst of the winter months.
The coldest MLS game on record was a March 3, 2019, match in Colorado, which clocked in at 18 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest game between MLS teams was the Feb. 20, 2018, clash between the Colorado Rapids and Toronto FC in the CONCACAF Champions League — which has traditionally started a week or two before the MLS regular season.
That Colorado-Toronto game was around 5 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff, and 3 degrees by conclusion, with the wind chill dipping well below -10 degrees.
It was then surpassed as the coldest high-level game on United States soil in February 2022, when the U.S. men’s national team played Honduras in a World Cup qualifier in Minnesota. The temperature that day was 2 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff, with a wind chill of -14. Honduras had to substitute multiple players due to the “extreme climate conditions.” Their coach was incredulous.
Most weather-related controversies, though, have centered on snow. Last year’s March 2 match between Real Salt Lake and LAFC, played on a snow-covered pitch in Utah, was branded an “absolute joke” by LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo.
Generally, however, clubs in cold-weather cities embrace adverse conditions. In Colorado, where it will also be around 4 degrees Fahrenheit for Tuesday’s Champions Cup game between the Rapids and LAFC, the Rapids appeared to subtweet Inter Miami’s concern about the conditions in Kansas City. (Inter’s nickname is the Herons.)
Too cold for 🦩
Perfect for #COLvLAFC 🏔️ pic.twitter.com/USsTKqs1ER
— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) February 18, 2025
Globally as well, games are occasionally postponed due to snow or heavy rain, but very rarely due to cold. In Siberia, a 2018 Russian Premier League game was played amid a wind chill of -13 degrees Fahrenheit. Russian soccer rules stated teams could refuse to play if temperatures dropped below -15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit), but the temp that day at kickoff was -13.9 Celsius (6.98 Fahrenheit). There is no such rule in CONCACAF.
So the Kansas City-Miami match will likely go ahead. Messi’s participation, therefore, is a decision for him and Inter Miami. Playing could jeopardize his health in the short and medium term for the 2025 season ahead. Staying home could jeopardize Inter’s run in the Champions Cup, one of their priority competitions.
