Talking Points | Sporting KC moves to increase concert schedule
You didn't really think Livestrong Sporting Park was all about soccer, did you?
Not after Sporting Kansas City moved its game against the Los Angeles Galaxy from Aug. 13 to this coming Monday to accommodate Farm Aid. The two biggest reasons for building the stadium were about having a soccer-specific home and the ability to control the dates of games. But when the chance to host a concert like Farm Aid arrived, the team ditched soccer for the music.
The result is no Landon Donovan, Kei Kamara or Teal Bunbury at Monday's game. Those three, and others, were called to international duty when they would have played in the game in mid-August.
How interested is Sporting Kansas City in billing its stadium as a concert venue? It has joined six other Major League Soccer teams in forming the Soccer Stadium Alliance, which will try attracting more concerts.
According to the Sports Business Journal, the other stadiums are BC Place in Vancouver, Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio; DickÂ's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.; Jeld-Wen Field in Portland; Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas and PPL Park in Chester, Pa..
The Sports Business Journal reported that each stadium kicks in $15,000, and that gross sales for the one-day concerts can range from $850,000 to $1.6 million, depending on ticket price. The kicker? Teams do not share the revenue with the league.
That's why this move makes sense for Sporting. Major League Soccer is still a relatively young league and any added revenue stream is a good thing.
And before you try bashing soccer for this move, consider this: The Gridiron Stadium Network has been around since 2005 and its purpose is to create awareness and to promote the assets of its member stadiums.
The NFL stadiums involved in that venture are the Georgia Dome (Falcons), M&T Bank Stadium (Ravens), Paul Brown Stadium (Bengals), Cleveland Browns Stadium, Inveco Field at Mile High (Broncos), Ford Field (Lions), Reliant Stadium (Texans), Lincoln Financial Field (Eagles), Heinz Field (Steelers), CenturyLink Field (Seahawks) and Raymond James Stadium (Buccaneers).
The only downside to the concert focus is moving the date of a game. You'd like for Sporting Kansas City to have first dibs on all dates for games. But the opportunity to infuse some cash into the team's coffers is a big deal, particularly as the club continues to make splashy signings such as Omar Bravo and Jeferson.
| Pete Grathoff, pgrathoff@kcstar.com
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