Sporting Club
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Sporting Club[1], formerly "OnGoal, LLC", is a group of Kansas City investors that owns or represents a portfolio of athletic organizations under the Sporting Club umbrella. Its flagship property is Major League Soccer franchise Sporting Kansas City.
Sporting Club consists of five principals: Neal Patterson (CEO and co-founder of the Cerner Corporation), Clifford Illig (co-founder and vice-chairman of the Cerner board), Pat Curran (founder of C3 Holdings), Greg Maday (CEO of SpecChem), Robb Heineman (CEO of Sporting Club). [2]
Sporting Kansas City
On August 31, 2006, Sporting Club bought the Wizards from their previous owner, Lamar Hunt, for about $20 million. In June 2007, Sporting Club opened a world-class training center at Swope Park. The training facility was developed through a public-private partnership between the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department and Sporting Club.[3]In December 2007, Sporting Club received approval for approximately $275 million of public financing to create a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas.
Sporting Kansas City Academy Youth Development Program
The Sporting KC Academy was formed in 2007, and the development program consists of four teams: the U12s, U14s, U16s and U18s. The U16 and U18 teams compete as members of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. SKC academy players have the opportunity to eventually join the Sporting Kansas City first team without going through the MLS draft process. SKC academy home games are played at the Sporting Club Training Center.
Sporting Club Network
Academy Affiliates
As an Academy Affiliate member, clubs becomes an extension of the Sporting KC Academy and therefore an extension of the club’s scouting network.[4]
- Omaha FC
- Sporting Blue Valley
- Sporting Columbia SC
- Sporting JB Marine
- Sporting Iowa
- Sporting Lee's Summit
- Sporting Lincoln FC
- Sporting Nashville Heroes
- Sporting St. Croix
- Sporting StL Rangers
- Sporting Wichita Rojos
Leagues
Member Clubs
- 417FC
- Blackfire Soccer Club
- Broken Arrow SC
- Brookside Soccer Club
- Club Azzurri
- Electric City Soccer Club
- Freebird Soccer
- Freedom Futbol Club
- Johnston-Urbandale Soccer Club
- Kansas City Blues Rugby Club- In May 2011, the Kansas City Blues rugby club joined Sporting Club as a founding member of the Sporting Club Network. Sporting Club did not acquire ownership of the Blues, but Sporting Club represents the commercial sponsorship and merchandise inventory of the Blues. The Blues wear Sporting Club patches on uniforms during competition, and they train and compete at the Sporting Club Training Center in Swope Park.[6]
- Kansas City Gaelic Athletic Club
- KCK Soccer Association
- KC Orange Elite
- KC Sport & Social Club
- Kansas Rush Soccer Club
- Kearney Celtic
- Leavenworth Soccer Association
- Little Apple Soccer Club
- Newton United Soccer Club
- Overland Park Soccer Club
- Prairie Fire Ultimate Frisbee
- Puma FC
- Santos Soccer Club
- Smithville Soccer Club
- Southeast Kansas Soccer Academy
- Special Olympics Kansas
- St. Joseph Youth Soccer Association
- Sunflower Soccer Association
- The Soccer Lot
- Topeka Select Soccer Club
- Tulsa Soccer Club Hurricane
- United Soccer Leagues of KC
- West Des Moines Soccer Club
- YMCA Sporting Tykes
References
- ↑ Sporting Club Partners with LIVESTRONG
- ↑ "Ownership". SportingKC.com. Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ↑ http://www.sportingkc.com/swope-park-training-center
- ↑ O'Connell, Liam. "FC Nashville Heroes joins Academy Affiliate ranks". SportingKC.com. Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ↑ "United States Specialty Sports Association Sporting Club Network". Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ↑ http://www.sportingkc.com/news/2011/05/affiliation-announced-kc-blues-rugby
- ↑ "SCN Members". Retrieved 6 September 2014.
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