Hall of Fame Talk Back

US Soccer still doesn't not have a physical location for their hall of fame since closing their location Oneonta, New York. Sporting KC and Robb Heineman had always talked about the idea of bringing the hall of fame to Kansas City. Originally it was brought up as being part of the stadium the team was building. That has not happened and the idea of the hall of fame being here kind of went on the back burner.

Then earlier this year, Sporting announced that they were looking at the idea of building a national training and player development center in Kansas City. The hall of fame talk came back up regarding the Kansas City area. But comments at the time were made that the hall of fame would have to make financial sense to the team and US Soccer to put it there. Reading between the lines most people put the hall of fame idea back on hold.

Then today on Planet Soccer, Grant Wahl posted an interesting comment regarding a potential hall of fame in KC.

"Last week we talked about the lack of a home building for the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Well, I’ve learned Sporting Kansas City will include a new Hall of Fame in its proposal next month as part of a $40 million U.S. Soccer training facility that has already been announced as a plan for the area. U.S. Soccer says a new Hall of Fame would require a $10 million startup and a $2 million annual operating budget. We’ll see if it can get done in Kansas City."

So Sporting KC is getting ready to submit its proposal next month for the training facility in KC. The facility and it's $40 million price tag, is actually cheaper than the original $50 million Sporting stated. But that extra $10 million would go to the start up of the hall of fame. A $2 million annual operating budget wouldn't be easy, but with the hall of fame in a more accessible location you're going to probably get more people, and with it tied to an MLS team, you can hope for traveling MLS fans to visit the hall as well when coming to watch their team play KC.

I've said for the longest time that I'd love the hall of fame to be here in KC. Now I just need to work on my resume so I can apply for a position if it gets built.