KC Current dedicate new stadium press box to Grant Wahl
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Current’s CPKC Stadium filled out its most memorable piece of the puzzle yet with an announcement on Thursday.
The press box is dedicated to honoring late soccer journalist Grant Wahl as the “Grant Wahl Memorial Press Box.”
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Wahl died in December while covering the World Cup in Qatar. His family later said he died of a ruptured heart vessel brought on by an undetected aneurysm.
“Grant and I were born and raised here in Kansas City and our lives were shaped by the sports culture in this region, but more specifically, by those who told those stories through the media,” Eric Wahl, Grant’s brother said in a statement.
“This is a great honor to our family. I hope that those journalists that come through this press box will see Grant’s dedication to telling the personal, challenging and compelling stories of this sport and its athletes, then seek to celebrate and elevate them through stories he would be proud to hear.”
He attended Shawnee Mission East High School before going to Princeton. Wahl then started out his career at the Miami Herald before joining Sports Illustrated in 1996.
After leaving SI in 2020, Wahl continued to cover worldwide soccer and the U.S. National Teams for his own website, while he also provided his insights for Fox Sports, CBS Sports and numerous other outlets.
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“Grant was one of the first people we consulted with the idea of founding an NWSL team in Kansas City,” co-owner and founder Angie Long said in a statement.
“His grounded advice, deep understanding of the soccer ecosystem, connections and thoughtful suggestions were critical ingredients to our decision to launch a new team on an unprecedented timeframe.”
Co-owner Chris Long still has a hard time handling his emotions when he discusses his dear friend Grant Wahl.
“I’ll be honest, you know, the tears, I remember we heard it, we couldn’t believe it. We called everybody we knew at the highest levels, globally. An awful feeling, I still have it,” Chris Long said.
So when they made the decision to name the Press Box at the game changing CPKC Stadium for women’s soccer .. it was a no brainer to name the Press Box after Wahl.
“It’s amazing that we can honor him in this way. It’s something that for us, is a legacy type thing that we’re doing for the city,” he said.
It means a lot to his brother Eric to see his brother’s name on a stadium that represents what their family would be proud of.
“Think the first thing he’d say is something about our mom, who raised us a feminist’s in the 70’s and 80’s and had been a gym teacher so she had been very pro women’s sports,” Eric Wahl said. Grant would definitely be proud of it. He’d probably shrug it off at first, like, ‘c’mon you guys.’ He’d tear up definitely and he’d be thinking about our parents.”
And with a plaque bearing the globally known writer’s name. it’s a legacy so the present and the future journalist keep his name alive.
“It’s hard to imagine this space without him in it and at least this makes him feel like he’s a part of it,” Angie Long said.
“Knowing that the Press Box has been dedicated to Grant, makes me proud of my city, proud of the city we grew up in and I think a lot of people can learn a lot about Grant and Grant’s writing,” Eric Wahl said.
Wahl also covered 12 NCAA men’s Tournaments, eight FIFA men’s World Cups and four FIFA women’s World Cups. Wahl wrote over 50 cover stories for the magazine on a plethora of athletes, including LeBron James’ first Sports Illustrated cover back in 2002.
He received a number of honors and awards since his death, including being posthumously inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame as a recipient of the Colin Jose Media Award.
