KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
CPKC Stadium opened in March to great fanfare as the first purpose-built stadium for women’s professional sports in the world.
With the Kansas City Current set to open the NWSL playoffs Saturday with the stadium's inaugural playoff game, several key executives tasked with the CPKC Stadium’s daily operations weighed in on how its first season went.
“We definitely feel like it's a great starting point — and we're just at the beginning,” Current President Raven Jemison said. “You think about the fact that we sold out every match, and that Kansas City has shown up for this team, that is the foundation that you want to have when you think about what comes next.”
PHOTO GALLERY | Inaugural match at CPKC Stadium
It was a challenge to build something from scratch and a risk to do something no women’s sports franchise had tried before, but the experiment has been a resounding success.
“There's a lot of things that we anticipated then there's a lot of things that you just can't anticipate, so the challenge is always meeting the challenges, whatever they may be and finding ways to work through them,” Current Vice President of Stadium Business Development and CPKC Stadium General Manager Stefanie Tomlin said.
Next in CPKC Stadium’s immediate future is its inaugural NWSL playoff match, but — from a wider view — the Current want the stadium to anchor a global brand.
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“The building itself, fans love,” Current Vice President for Marketing Jocelyn Monroe said. “They love the experience of being here. They love being in a building that's got the historic mark and historic nature of this building.”
CPKC Stadium’s staff, the Current’s players and their fans understand the significance of the building extends well beyond the concrete and steel.
“The energy of the place — it doesn't get old,” Tomlin said. “Coming here to work, even on a dark day, you still feel the electricity. Certainly on match days, it is electric here. And you can't buy that, you can't make that.”
By building their own stadium, the Current created a new playbook for women’s professional sports — and they knew it would be scrutinized.
“Absolutely there's pressure,” Jemison said. “But I would say that, as with anything, the moment you do it, it's like, ‘OK, now, how do we do it better?’”
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The Current nailed some aspects of the new stadium.
“I'm really impressed with our food story here,” Tomlin said. “It's a taste of Kansas City here. I think our food is approachable, but very quintessentially Kansas City.”
Monroe added, “That's my favorite part, being able to get some Joe’s (Kansas City BBQ) or get some Yoli’s (Tortilleria), and really being able to taste a little bit of Kansas City while you're here at a match.”
Fans have flocked to CPKC Stadium and the team has flourished, losing only one match at home during the regular season (9-3-1), but the Current continue to work to make the game-day experience better.
“We've learned a lot about this building — what works, what doesn't work, fan ingress, fan egress,” Monroe said. “How do we get fans here and create a great experience with them? What do our fans like? We've worked with our groups to really try to create an atmosphere where everyone feels included and inclusive.”
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Parking has been an issue, one the team will continue to work to solve, and the shuttle system had to be adjusted after its launch.
“The multimodal transportation that is coming to CPKC Stadium — the first couple of matches, people were trying to figure it out,” Jemison said. “But I did the walking tailgate three or four matches in and the fans that you see on the Heritage Trail walking to the match and enjoying a beautiful day, it’s been great.”
The KC Streetcar’s Berkley Riverfront extension won’t be complete until the 2026 season, but eventually it will terminate near CPKC Stadium and provide yet another way for fans to get to Current games or the variety of additional activities and events — like the Big 12 Women’s Soccer Championship, which wraps up Saturday night after the NWSL quarterfinal against the North Carolina Courage earlier in the day — that will ramp up next year and beyond.
“I have every intention of making this the preeminent stadium, so that has to do with how we grow our programming,” Tomlin said. “What other sports are we bringing in? Is it lacrosse? Is it rugby? How are we working with some of the national teams? Are we working internationally with other teams to have friendlies here? But also, how are we making this a cultural hub? So, that has to do with music, that has to do with art, that has to do with food, that has to do with wine. I have big plans.”
And they’re just getting started.
“There’s going to be so much to learn and to create and innovate around as we continue on this journey,” Jemison said.
CPKC Stadium was conceived with the idea of what’s possible. Reality proved even better on March 16 with a 5-4 win against the Portland Thorns and as the Current’s magical season unfolded.
“My hopes were realized truthfully, because the moment we opened the gates — you had the ribbon cutting and you had all the build up and suspense, the night before and all that went in to prepare for this moment — it was everything and more,” Jemison said.
The Current and CPKC Stadium’s staff are crafting a playbook that they hope will be replicated for other women’s professional sports team around the NWSL, around the country in other sports and around the globe.
“There is a new standard set,” Monroe said. “One of our owners said, as we opened this building, that what we've done here cannot be unseen — and it cannot.”
As they have all season, the Current are expecting a sellout for Saturday’s playoff game and CPKC Stadium also will host the 2024 NWSL Championship Game on Saturday, Nov. 23.
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