Children's Mercy Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Children's Mercy Park

The Blue Hell Home of the Brave The KC-K
A Sporting Kansas City game in 2011
Children's Mercy Park Location in Kansas Show map of Kansas Children's Mercy Park Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Former names	Livestrong Sporting Park (2011–2013) Sporting Park (2013–2015)
Address	One Sporting Way
Location	Kansas City, Kansas
Coordinates	39°07′17″N 94°49′16″W / 39.1214°N 94.8210°W / 39.1214; -94.8210
Public transit	The Metro 101
Owner	Kansas Unified Development, LLC.
Operator	Sporting Kansas City
Capacity	18,467 (soccer) 25,000 (concerts)
Record attendance	21,650 Sporting Kansas City vs. Real Salt Lake, MLS Cup 2013
Field size	120 yd × 75 yd (110 m × 69 m)
Surface	Natural Grass
Scoreboard	Two Panasonic Video Boards 24 by 84 feet (7.3 m × 25.6 m) 12 by 24 feet (3.7 m × 7.3 m)
Construction
Broke ground	January 20, 2010
Opened	June 9, 2011
Construction cost	$200 million ($260 million in 2022 dollars )
Architect	Populous
Project manager	LANE4 Property Group
Structural engineer	Thornton Tomasetti/KH Engineering Group
Services engineer	M-E Engineers, Inc./FSC Inc.
General contractor	Turner Construction
Tenants
Sporting Kansas City (MLS) (2011–present) Sporting Kansas City II (USLC) (2018–present) FC Kansas City (NWSL) (2015–2017)

Children's Mercy Park is a special stadium built for soccer games. It is located in Kansas City, Kansas, in the United States. This stadium is the home field for the Sporting Kansas City soccer team. It is found close to the Kansas Speedway.

The stadium first opened on June 9, 2011. The very first game played there was between Sporting Kansas City and the Chicago Fire. Children's Mercy Park can hold 18,467 fans for soccer matches. For concerts, it can fit up to 25,000 people! Sporting Kansas City games often have around 21,000 fans. This stadium is the third home for the team. Before this, they played at Arrowhead Stadium and CommunityAmerica Ballpark. In 2013, Children's Mercy Park was the only stadium to host three big soccer events in one year: the MLS All-Star Game, a game for the U.S. men's national soccer team, and the MLS Cup.

History of the Stadium

How the Stadium Was Planned

The owners of Sporting Kansas City, called Sporting Club, first wanted to build the stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. They planned to build it where an old mall, Bannister Mall, used to be. This plan was approved in December 2007. The stadium was supposed to open in 2011. It would have 18,500 seats.

However, money problems from 2008 to 2009 put the project on hold. The stadium builders then looked for a new spot. They found a place near the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. This new location was next to CommunityAmerica Ballpark. The city of Kansas City, Missouri, did not want to give more money for the stadium. So, the builders decided to move the project to Kansas.

Building the Stadium

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

In September 2009, the builders asked Wyandotte County and Kansas state officials for help. They wanted to use money from existing taxes to help pay for the soccer complex. On December 17, Sporting KC's president, Robb Heineman, said the Kansas City, Kansas, location was final.

On December 21, construction machines were already at the site. They were ready to start building. On January 19, Wyandotte County approved the money for the stadium. The very next day, January 20, the groundbreaking ceremony happened. Robb Heineman used heavy machines to move dirt. This officially started the building process.

First Season and Beyond

The first game at the stadium was on June 9, 2011. Sporting Kansas City played the Chicago Fire. The game ended in a 0-0 tie. There were 19,925 fans there, more than the usual capacity. The first goal scored at the stadium was during the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Dwayne De Rosario scored a penalty kick for Canada.

Sporting Kansas City's first goal at home was scored by C. J. Sapong. They won that game 1-0 against the San Jose Earthquakes. In their first season, Sporting KC had a great home record. They won 9 games, lost 2, and tied 6. About 17,810 fans came to each game that year.

In 2012, more fans came to Sporting KC games. The average attendance was 19,404. Sporting KC made it to the playoffs that year. They also won the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. They beat the Seattle Sounders in the final.

In 2013, even more fans came to the stadium. Sporting KC played in the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League. Children's Mercy Park also hosted a World Cup qualifying game. The U.S. team beat Jamaica 2-0. The stadium also hosted the 2013 MLS All-Star Game. A.S. Roma played against the MLS All-Stars. Sporting KC set a new attendance record of 21,650 fans in the playoffs. They beat the Houston Dynamo to reach the MLS Cup Finals. Sporting KC won the MLS Cup against Real Salt Lake in a penalty shootout. This was the second final in two years hosted at Children's Mercy Park.

The stadium also started hosting college sports events. From 2014 to 2017, the NCAA Division II Football Championships were played here. In 2015, the NCAA College Cup was also held at the park.

In 2015, the stadium hosted a game for FC Kansas City. This is a women's soccer team in the NWSL. They played two more games there in 2016. In 2016, the stadium added new cameras. These include a Skycam and robo-cams behind the goals.

International Matches Played Here

Children's Mercy Park has hosted many international soccer games. The first international match was on June 14, 2011. It was part of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Canada and Panama tied 1-1. After that, the U.S. men's team played and won 1-0 against Guadeloupe.

The stadium also hosted its first women's international game. The U.S. women's team played Canada. The game ended in a 1-1 tie. Over 16,000 fans came to watch. Children's Mercy Park also hosted the semifinals and final of the 2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Men's Matches

Date	Team #1	Result	Team #2	Competition	Attendance
June 14, 2011	Canada	1–1	Panama	2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup	20,109
	Guadeloupe	0–1	United States
March 31, 2012	El Salvador U-23	2–3 (AET)	Honduras U-23	2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament	16,101
	Mexico U-23	3–1	Canada U-23
April 2, 2012	Honduras U-23	1–2	Mexico U-23		10,501
October 16, 2012	United States	3–1	Guatemala	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification	16,947
October 11, 2013	United States	2–0	Jamaica	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification	18,467
July 13, 2015	Haiti	1–0	Honduras	2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup	18,467
	United States	1–1	Panama
October 1, 2015	Panama U-23	1–1	Cuba U-23	2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship	3,827
	United States U-23	3–1	Canada U-23
October 3, 2015	Canada U-23	3–1	Panama U-23		3,755
	Cuba U-23	1–6	United States U-23
May 28, 2016	United States	4–0	Bolivia	Friendly	8,894
June 26, 2019	Trinidad and Tobago	1–1	Guyana	2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup	17,037
	Panama	0–1	United States

Women's Matches

Date	Team #1	Result	Team #2	Competition	Attendance
September 17, 2011	United States	1–1	Canada	Friendly	16,191
October 15, 2014	Guatemala	0–1	Haiti	2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship	3,621
	United States	1–0	Trinidad and Tobago
October 16, 2014	Costa Rica	1–0	Mexico		N/A
	Jamaica	6–0	[[Image:{{{flag alias-local}}}|22x20px|border ]] Martinique
July 22, 2016	United States	4–0	Costa Rica	2016 Olympics warm-up	12,635
July 26, 2018	Brazil	1–3	Australia	2018 Tournament of Nations	10,307
	United States	4–2	Japan		18,467

Stadium Name Changes

When the stadium first opened, it was called Livestrong Sporting Park. This was because of a partnership with Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation. The soccer club agreed to give money to the foundation for six years. However, in January 2013, the agreement ended.

After that, the stadium was simply called Sporting Park. Then, on November 19, 2015, a new partnership was announced. This was with Children's Mercy Hospital. The stadium was renamed Children's Mercy Park for ten years.

Record Attendance at Games

Children's Mercy Park has seen many large crowds. On July 31, 2013, the 2013 MLS All-Star Game set a record. There were 21,175 people, including standing room tickets. Just one week later, on August 3, a new record was set. There were 21,304 fans at a game against the New York Red Bulls.

On November 23, 2013, the record was broken again. A crowd of 21,650 watched Sporting Kansas City win against the Houston Dynamo. This was during the Eastern Conference Final. Two weeks later, on December 7, the same number of fans came. They watched the team win the MLS Cup 2013 in a penalty shootout. On June 6, 2015, a new record for a regular season game was set. There were 21,505 fans at a 1-0 win over the Seattle Sounders.

Awards and Recognition

Children's Mercy Park has won several awards. In 2012, it won "Venue of the Year Award". It also won the "Community Award" at TheStadiumBusiness Awards.

The stadium was also a finalist for other big awards. It was one of four finalists for "Sports Facility of the Year" in 2012. This award came from Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal. It was also one of eight finalists for the "New Venue Award" in 2012.

Images for kids

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  Children's Mercy Park from the side

See also

In Spanish: Children's Mercy Park para niños