Livestrong Sporting Park

Livestrong Sporting Park
Location	Kansas City, KS
Coordinates	39°07′18″N 94°49′25″W / 39.1218°N 94.8237°W / 39.1218; -94.8237Coordinates: 39°07′18″N 94°49′25″W / 39.1218°N 94.8237°W / 39.1218; -94.8237
Broke ground	January 20, 2010
Opened	June 9, 2011
Owner	Kansas Unified Development, LLC.
Operator	Global Spectrum[1]
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	$200 million ($200 million in 2011 dollars[2])
Architect	Populous[3]
Structural engineer	Thornton Tomasetti
General Contractor	Turner Construction[1]
Capacity	18,467 (soccer)[4] 25,000 (concerts)
Field dimensions	120 x 75 yards
Tenants
Sporting Kansas City (MLS) (2011– )

Livestrong Sporting Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas and is the home of Sporting Kansas City. The stadium opened during the 2011 season of Major League Soccer on June 9, 2011 with a match against the Chicago Fire.^[5] The stadium has a seating capacity of 18,467 seats, which can expand to 25,000 for concerts.^[6] The stadium is Sporting Kansas City's third home venue. The team played in Arrowhead Stadium from 1996 to 2007 and CommunityAmerica Ballpark from 2008 to 2010.

History

Initial planning

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.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^{[citation needed]}

Construction

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds performed at Farm Aid at Livestrong Sporting Park on August 13, 2011.

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.^[9] On December 17, Sporting KC president, Robb Heineman provided an update on the stadium situation published on team official website and blog,^[10][11] 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.^[12][13] On January 19, Wyandotte County approved the bonds to help finance the stadium,^[14] and on the 20th, the groundbreaking ceremony happened with Sporting's CEO, Robb Heineman, using heavy machinery to move dirt on the construction site.^[15]

Inaugural season

The opening match took place on June 9, 2011, as Sporting played the Chicago Fire to a scoreless draw. 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.

International matches

Livestrong 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.

Livestrong Sporting Park will play host to the semifinals and final of the 2012 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament.^[16]

Men's matches

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

Women's matches

Date	Result	Competition
17 September 2011	United States 1–1  Canada	Friendly

Stadium naming rights

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.^[17]

Attendance Records

The November 6, 2011 game against the Houston Dynamo set a home attendance record of 20,839 including standing room only tickets.^[18]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Strong debut". Street and Smith's Sportsbusiness Journal. http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/06/20/Facilities/Livestrong.aspx. Retrieved 18 October 2011. 
2. ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
3. ^ "LIVESTRONG Sporting Park". Populous.com. http://portfolio.populous.com/projects/sportingkc.html. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
4. ^ "Sporting Club and Cisco Unveil Next Generation Fan Experience at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park". LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. 7 June 2011. http://www.livestrongsportingpark.com/sporting-club-and-cisco-unveil-next-generation-fan-experience-at-livestrong-sporting-park/. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
5. ^ "Sporting KC settles for 0–0 draw with Fire". ESPN.com. 9 June 2011. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/312888?cc=5901. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
6. ^ Tucker, Doug (9 June 2011). "KC unveils $200 million new soccer stadium". Forbes.com. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/06/09/business-financial-impact-soc-livestrong-sporting-park_8507939.html. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
7. ^ http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/8940 As expected, City Council gives final approval to Three Trails project
8. ^ Collison, Kevin (2009-09-08). "Wizards stadium project kicked over the state line to Wyandotte County". The Kansas City Star. http://www.kansascity.com/703/story/1433346.html?storylink=omni_popular. Retrieved 2009-09-13. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ Kansas adjusts offer aimed at spurring Cerner, Wizards development near speedway, The Kansas City Star, December 08, 2009.
10. ^ Heineman provides stadium update, KC Wizards Official Website.
11. ^ Hillcrest Road – RH Stadium Update, OnGoal CEO/Wizards President Robb Heineman gives an update on the progress of the stadium project.
12. ^ Hillcrest Road – Yellow Machines on Site, Equipment from Clarkson Construction showed up at the future site of the stadium in KCK.
13. ^ Work starts on Kansas City Wizards stadium, Kansas City Business Journal – by Rob Roberts.
14. ^ Stadium Approval News, Sporting KC Official Website.
15. ^ Stadium Ground Breaking, Wizards Official Blog.
16. ^ http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/10/3259643/olympic-qualifying-games-coming.html Olympics
17. ^ McCollough, Brady (8 June 2011). "Sporting president Heineman is eager for opening of Livestrong Sporting Park". The Kansas City Star. http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/08/2937333/sporting-president-heineman-is.html#storylink=misearch. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
18. ^ http://www.sportingkc.com/news/2011/11/recap-skc-season-ends-eastern-conference-final

External links

• Livestrong Sporting Park (official website)
• Virtual Venue view of seating