Sporting Park
| Sporting Park | |
|---|---|
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"The Blue Hell" "Home of the Brave" |
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| Former names | Livestrong Sporting Park |
| Location | One Sporting Way Kansas City, KS |
| Coordinates | 39°07′18″N 94°49′25″W / 39.1218°N 94.8237°WCoordinates: 39°07′18″N 94°49′25″W / 39.1218°N 94.8237°W |
| Broke ground | January 20, 2010 |
| Opened | June 9, 2011 |
| Owner | Kansas Unified Development, LLC. |
| Operator | Global Spectrum[1] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | $200 million ($204 million in 2013 dollars[2]) |
| Architect | Populous[3] |
| Project manager | LANE4 Property Group[4] |
| Structural engineer | Thornton Tomasetti/KH Engineering Group[5] |
| Services engineer | M-E Engineers, Inc./FSC Inc.[5] |
| General contractor | Turner Construction[1] |
| Capacity | 18,467 (soccer)[6] 25,000 (concerts) |
| Field dimensions | 109.73 x 68.58 m (120 x 75 yards) |
| Tenants | |
| Sporting Kansas City (MLS) (2011–present) 2013 MLS All-Star Game |
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Sporting Park (formerly Livestrong Sporting Park) is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, US, and is the home of Sporting Kansas City. The stadium was renamed in January 2013 after the Livestrong Foundation and Sporting Kansas City ended their agreement.[7] The stadium opened during the 2011 season of Major League Soccer on June 9, 2011 with a match against the Chicago Fire.[8] The stadium has a seating capacity of 18,467 seats, which can expand to 25,000 for concerts.[9] The stadium is Sporting Kansas City's third home venue; then known as the Kansas City Wizards, the team played in Arrowhead Stadium from 1996 to 2007 and CommunityAmerica Ballpark from 2008 to 2010.
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History [edit]
Initial planning [edit]
Originally, Sporting Club, the team's ownership group, planned to move to southeast Kansas City, Missouri on land previously occupied by Bannister Mall. The redevelopment plan, called The Trails, was passed on December 13, 2007.[10] The last package of economic incentives, a $30-million tax rebate, was passed on November 21, 2008.
The stadium's planned site had been demolished to prepare the site for infrastructure. It was intended to open in 2011 with a capacity of 18,500 seats. However, fallout from the 2008–2009 financial crisis placed the project on hiatus, and the stadium developer eventually sought to move the new project near the Village West retail center in Kansas City, Kansas, near the Kansas Speedway and CommunityAmerica Ballpark.[11] The developer of The Trails complex sought additional "enhancements" (i.e., borrowing authority) from Kansas City, Missouri, to finance the building of the soccer stadium and its associated amateur soccer complex. However, the city was unwilling to provide the desired financing, leading the developer to seek a new site across the state line.[citation needed]
Construction [edit]
In September 2009, the developer asked Wyandotte County and Kansas state officials for permission to use revenues from existing tax increment financing in the Village West area to help finance the soccer complex.[12] On December 17, Sporting KC president, Robb Heineman provided an update on the stadium situation published on team official website and blog,[13][14] basically putting the Kansas City, Kansas location as final, pending the signature of the final agreements. On 21 December, construction machinery was already on the Legends site waiting to break ground on the site.[15][16] On January 19, Wyandotte County approved the bonds to help finance the stadium,[17] and on January 20, the groundbreaking ceremony happened with Sporting's CEO, Robb Heineman, using heavy machinery to move dirt on the construction site.[18]
Inaugural season [edit]
The opening match took place on June 9, 2011, as Sporting played the Chicago Fire to a scoreless draw in front of an over capacity crowd of 19,925.[19] The first goal would come days later during the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup when Dwayne De Rosario converted a penalty kick for Canada against Panama. Sporting's first goal came from C. J. Sapong in a 1–0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes, the club's first victory in the stadium. Sporting would finish its first regular season in the stadium with a 9–2–6 record at home. Average attendance was 17,810 for the year, or 96.4% of capacity.
International matches [edit]
Sporting Park hosted its first international match with the final Group C matches of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Canada and Panama played to a 1–1 draw in this match, which was followed by the stadium's first-ever USA match, a 1-0 win over Guadeloupe.
The stadium played host to its first-ever women's match when it hosted the United States women's national soccer team in its first match since the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, a 1–1 draw with Canada witnessed by a crowd of 16,191.
Sporting Park played host to the semifinals and final of the 2012 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament.[20]
Men's matches [edit]
| Date | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 14 June 2011 |  Canada 1–1  Panama |
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 14 June 2011 |  United States 1–0  Guadeloupe |
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 31 March 2012 |  El Salvador U-23 2–3  Honduras U-23 |
2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament |
| 31 March 2012 |  Mexico U-23 3-1 Canada U-23 |
2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament |
| 2 April 2012 | Honduras U-23 1–2 Mexico U-23 |
2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament |
| 16 October 2012 | United States 3-1  Guatemala |
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Third Round |
| 11 October 2013 | United States v  Jamaica |
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round |
Women's matches [edit]
| Date | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 17 September 2011 | United States 1–1 Canada |
Friendly |
Stadium naming rights [edit]
On March 8, 2011 a partnership with Lance Armstrong's Livestrong foundation was announced. The club will donate a portion of revenues, no less than $7.5 million, to the foundation over the course of six years.[21] On January 15, 2013, Livestrong and Sporting Kansas City agreed to terminate the naming agreement.[22]
Attendance records [edit]
The September 28, 2012 MLS regular season meeting between Kansas City and Chicago Fire set a home attendance record of 21,010 including standing room only tickets.[23]
Recognition and awards [edit]
Winner of the 2012 "Venue of the Year Award" - TheStadiumBusiness Awards 2012.[24]
One of 4 finalists for "Sports Facility of the Year" - 2012 Sports Business Awards from Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily.[25]
One of 8 finalists for "New Venue Award" - TheStadiumBusiness Awards 2012.[26]
References [edit]
- ^ a b "Strong Debut". Street and Smith's Sportsbusiness Journal. June 20, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Staff. Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2012. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
- ^ "LIVESTRONG Sporting Park". Populous.com. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ^ Lane4Group - Sporting Kansas City
- ^ a b LIVESTRONG Sporting Park - Populous
- ^ "Sporting Club and Cisco Unveil Next Generation Fan Experience at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park". LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ^ Tryon, Barrett. "Livestrong Sporting Park Deal is Over Immediately; Renamed Sporting Park". Retrieved 16 January 2013.
- ^ "Sporting KC settles for 0–0 draw with Fire". ESPN.com. June 9, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ^ Tucker, Doug (June 9, 2011). "KC Unveils $200 Million New Soccer Stadium". Forbes.com. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ^ http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/8940 As expected, City Council gives final approval to Three Trails project
- ^ Collison, Kevin (2009-09-08). "Wizards Stadium Project Kicked Over the State Line to Wyandotte County". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2009-09-13.[dead link]
- ^ Kansas adjusts offer aimed at spurring Cerner, Wizards development near speedway, The Kansas City Star, December 08, 2009.
- ^ Heineman provides stadium update, KC Wizards Official Website.
- ^ Hillcrest Road – RH Stadium Update, OnGoal CEO/Wizards President Robb Heineman gives an update on the progress of the stadium project.
- ^ Hillcrest Road – Yellow Machines on Site, Equipment from Clarkson Construction showed up at the future site of the stadium in Kansas City, Kansas.
- ^ Work starts on Kansas City Wizards stadium, Kansas City Business Journal – by Rob Roberts.
- ^ Stadium Approval News, Sporting KC Official Website.
- ^ Stadium Ground Breaking, Wizards Official Blog.
- ^ http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/09/2939575/sporting-kc-gets-0-0-draw-with.html
- ^ http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/10/3259643/olympic-qualifying-games-coming.html Olympics
- ^ McCollough, Brady (8 June 2011). "Sporting president Heineman is eager for opening of Livestrong Sporting Park". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ Rovell, Darren. "Livestrong Sporting Park deal set to end". espn.com. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
- ^ http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2012-09-28-skc-v-chi/stats
- ^ http://www.stadiumbusinessawards.com/winners-of-thestadiumbusiness-awards-2012-announced/
- ^ http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Conferences-Events/2012/2012-Sports-Business-Awards.aspx
- ^ http://www.stadiumbusinessawards.com/shortlists2012/
External links [edit]
| Preceded by PPL Park |
Host of the MLS All-Star Game 2013 |
Succeeded by TBD |
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