Kansas City will play two years in a baseball stadium

As expected, the Kansas City Wizards have announced that they will play the 2008 & 2009 seasons at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kansas. This move will allow the Wizards to play in a more 'intimate, family-friendly atmosphere.'

A little interesting bit, all stadium information seems to point to the site having between 4,300-5,000 fixed seats, but in their announcement, the Wizards specifically said '10,000 seats' are available. I'm guessing that they are using 'seat' as in place to sit down, not necessarily an actual physical chair as it looks like their is a large lawn area, plus it looks like they will add some bleachers on the field (here is a seating map for soccer).

People who purchase tickets for the 2008 season will 'receive priority for season ticket purchases when the Wizards permanent stadium opens in 2010.'

Although this is not fantastic news by any means, it could be much worse. The team seems to want to build on the next two seasons in order to open strong in their new stadium in 2010. Don't get me wrong, even 10,000 is a bit low, but if they can really improve the atmosphere of their matches, they should be able to use this as a springboard. Also, knowing where they are going to play with five months till their first home game should allow their marketing team to get the place sold out.

There might be one little hitch to this whole plan, the soccer stadium deal is not yet finalized, and even though it looks like it will happen, until it is done, nobody can be sure. I would hate to see the CA Ballpark become a long term home to the team.