NEW YORK – Kansas City, here we come.
On Thursday afternoon, Major League Soccer announced Kansas City and Livestrong Sporting Park will play host to the 2013 MLS All-Star Game on July 31. The opponent has not yet been announced.
The game will be broadcast live at 9 pm ET on the ESPN, Univision, TSN and RDS family of networks. Exact details will be announced at a later date.
The 2013 All-Star Game will cap three days of festivities and mark the 10th time MLS’ elite take the field against an international club, a group that includes Manchester United (2010, 2011), Chelsea (2006, 2012), Everton FC (2009) and Chivas de Guadalajara (2003).
The MLS All-Stars knocked off Chelsea, 3-2, at PPL Park in 2012, a late goal from Eddie Johnson deciding the match in favor of the hosts. Overall, the All-Stars are 6-2-1 against foreign club competition, and will be playing for the first time in Kansas City.
Since opening in June 2011, Livestrong Sporting Park has cemented itself as one of the nation’s premier soccer venues, hosting the US men and women, the 2012 US Open Cup championship and CONCACAF Gold Cup and Olympic qualifying matches. Sporting KC also sold out 17 of 18 MLS games during the 2012 season.
