Welcome to Livestrong Sporting Park

It was a day of big news today for Sporting KC. On top of the announcement of the US coming to KC in the Gold Cup, we now have an announcement on whose name will be on the stadium. That name is Livestrong Sporting Park. Today the team announced a 6 year partnership with the nonprofit organization founded by Lance Armstrong.

It's not a sponsorship deal for the stadium, but a partnership between the team and Livestrong. The team will donate a portion of all stadium revenue, including ticket sales and concessions, will be donated to the nonprofit to help fight cancer. Robb Heineman said today that the team hopes to raise $7.5 million for the charity of the 6 years of the deal.

It may not be the revenue generating sponsor that many fans were wanting or expecting, but this is a great move for the team. Livestrong is a nation wide brand that is known throughout the world. Earlier today Livestrong Park was even treading world wide. That's not the type of attention you get regularly. That alone could be a huge step for the team, with it treading world wide it's on the minds of plenty of people now looking into this. The other thing is that apparently KC passed up on deals that would have paid KC for the sponsorship to go with the nonprofit.

Personally I really like this. The team has made the naming of the stadium more than just an attempt to get money. They've used it as an attempt to generate a buzz around the team while at the same trying to make a difference by joining a cause that is trying to combat cancer, which I don't think anyone hasn't been affected by it. It shows a lot of character for the team as well that they were willing to pass up money to go this route (although I'm sure the tax write off will be nice too). It's also a great thing for fans as they know that a portion of the money they spend on anything at the stadium will go to this cause. As James said, "My football team and I are going to save lives"