The Livestrong Sporting Park at The Legends in Kansas City, KS is only 5 weeks from completion, but when they open their doors for the first Sporting KC Soccer Club match in July, the facility will create new ground internationally for fan appreciation and accommodation.
When touring the Livestrong Sporting Park, it is immediately apparent this place has been built from the ground up for the fan experience. It will be the first stadium of its kind to have wifi available anywhere in the facility, even on the field, should a player feel the need to log in to his email during a match.
In addition to being the first stadium of its kind to feature complete wifi throughout, they have put in enough bandwidth so that a majority of the fans can be streaming video simultaneously, providing a starting point for future direct to mobile video feeds aimed at enhancing the fan experience. With Google Fiber outfitting the entire area in the coming years with next generation internet connectivity, the ability to connect in this stadium will only get better.
The grandstands are divided into half a dozen unique fan experiences, depending on your level of interest, and involvement. The “Cauldron Club” is Sporting KC’s most dedicated fans, with their own field level box seats, and attached bar and restaurant will be Kansas City’s first dedicated soccer bar, providing a place that soccer fans can be guaranteed that if there is a big international match going on, it will be the place to see it.)
Additionally the “All-Access Club” is a bar and restaurant situated between the press room and the players bench. This exclusive restaurant will allow select fans to see the pre-game procession, as well as the post-game press conference, with a fan viewing area adjacent to the press room. Fans in the all-access club will also have seats directly between the home and away team benches, putting them in the middle of the action at game time.
There are two levels of suites, each focused on separate demographics. The first level, the CEO level, is focused on business leaders, giving the ultimate luxury suite experience, with their own dedicated food service, restrooms, and wait staff. The second suite level is focused on business professionals who strive for networking opportunities. Each suite is separated, but they all share a communal food and bar area, allowing people to connect with each other like never before. All suites will have an Apple iPad, that allows suite holders the ability to control lighting, tv viewing angles, as well as ordering food and drinks.
The iPad isn’t just utilized for the fans. The team locker room is an epicenter of technology, with each player getting their own “command-center” chair. From this chair, utilizing built in Ethernet and power, players can review plays, game footage, and specific coaches’ tactics can be broadcast from a large interactive screen that makes up the focal point of the locker room. Sporting KC hopes that world class facilities can help woo some top ranked players to the team.
The entire facility was designed with a multipurpose use. One section of seats can be removed to reveal a fully functional stage for hosting concerts. The management team encourages Kansas City to stay tuned for the announcement of some soon to be revealed big name acts. The park will also be home to weddings, parties, and charity events. Maybe the best part about the park is that it only seats 6000 fans, making it one of the most intimate pro-soccer venues in the world.
Additionally, this park has been designed from the ground up to be environmentally friendly. With 6000 seated outside, the use of a roof over the fan sections was necessary. However, the developers wanted to make sure that the roof itself wouldn’t block out so much sun that they could not make the field out of natural grass. Whereas other stadiums used huge racks of plant lights that consume enormous amounts of energy, the Livestrong Park roof was designed to be partially translucent in certain areas, allowing light to flow through and keep the grass alive naturally.
21st century technology aside, perhaps the most progressive part of the park is the name itself. A premier soccer venue can command millions of dollars from a sponsor for naming rights. Instead, Sporting KC contacted the Lance Armstrong Foundation and offered to donate the name of the park to raise cancer awareness. The Foundation, having raised over 60 million dollars in its partnership with Nike selling those little rubber bands, was grateful and amazed by this.
We appreciate Livestrong Sporting Park allowing us to tour the grounds and we can’t wait to see this first class sports venue when it opens, offering a fan experience like never before in Kansas City.
Additional photos can be viewed on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.215982371760579.70630.160473577311459
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