Children's Mercy Park
 File:SKC stadium.png | |
 | |
| Location | Kansas City, KS |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°07′18″N 94°49′25″W / 39.1218°N 94.8237°W |
| Owner | Kansas Unified Development, LLC. |
| Capacity | 18,500 (soccer) 25,000 (concerts) |
| Field size | 120 x 75 yards |
| Surface | Grass with a SubAir™ under-soil heating and cooling system |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | Jan. 20, 2010 |
| Opened | June 9, 2011 (planned) |
| Construction cost | $160 million |
| Architect | Populous[1] |
| Structural engineer | Thornton Tomasetti |
| Tenants | |
| Sporting Kansas City (MLS) (2011- ) 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup (2011) | |
Livestrong Sporting Park is the name for the planned soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas. The stadium is currently under construction. It is intended to open in the middle of the 2011 season as the new home of Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer with a capacity of 18,500 seats, which will be expandable to 25,000 if there is sufficient demand.[2]
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.[3] On December 17, Sporting KC president, Robb Heineman provided an update on the stadium situation published on team official website and blog,[4][5] basically putting the Kansas City Kansas location as final, pending the signature of the final agreements. On the 21st of December, construction machinery was already on the Legends site waiting to break ground on the site[6] .[7] On January 19, Wyandotte County approved the bonds to help finance the stadium,[8] and on the 20th, the groundbreaking ceremony was made, with Wizards CEO, Robb Heineman, using heavy machinery to move dirt on the construction site.[9]
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.[10]
This will be Sporting Kansas City's third stadium. The team played in Arrowhead Stadium from 1996 to 2007 and CommunityAmerica Ballpark from 2008 to present day.
Other locations
Originally, Sporting Club, had 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.[11] 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.[12] The developer of The Trails complex sought additional "enhancements" (i.e., borrowing authority) from Kansas City 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.
References
- ^ Kansas City Wizards Soccer Stadium architect: Populous
- ^ http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/23/2039644/wizards-show-off-early-stages.html
- ^ 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 KCK.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Sporting KC names stadium for Livestrong foundation
- ^ 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.
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