Entering the Sports Market: Kansas City Current

In the world of professional sports, three factors are non-negotiable for a long-lasting team. In order to be successful, a team must have consistent ownership, expertise, and an innovative vision for the future. The Kansas City Current has the full package, explaining the team's quick success. 

Chris and Angie Long purchased the Current in 2020 when the team’s predecessor, the Utah Royals, dissolved due to the owner’s mismanagement. Before the Longs acquired the team, the franchise had 3 previous owners, all of whom faced allegations of misconduct. When the Longs became owners in 2020, they were committed to building the franchise from the ground up. This meant investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire staff, refurbish training facilities, and lure star players. 

Though the Longs do not have soccer expertise, they are certainly well-versed in business. The couple worked together at J.P. Morgan before starting their own firm, Palmer Square Capital BDC Inc., in 2019. Together, they manage the company’s total assets, which exceeds $22 billion. For the Longs, owning a women’s professional sports team is no different than any other investment. They use their business background to make decisions that will propel the team to success, consequently allowing them to profit. 

In addition to their expertise, the Longs’ innovative vision for the Current has set the team apart from other NWSL teams. The Longs were not interested in simply sitting on the sidelines and enjoying the profits of owning a professional team. They had their focus set on one goal in particular: a new stadium. At the time, no professional women’s sports team in the world had a stadium of its own. Today, almost every team in the NWSL competes in another team’s stadium. The Longs knew that this goal was ambitious, but as seasoned investors, they viewed this stadium as a pioneering opportunity that would launch their team into the forbidden territory of women’s professional sports.

The Longs recognized that financing this stadium would be difficult, considering it was the first of its kind and the looming stigma around the profitability of women’s sports. In 2021, the Longs and their co-owner, Brittney Mahomes, announced their plan to build a $70 million stadium on the riverfront of Kansas City. The owners financed the primary funding for the stadium. When construction costs derailed the initial budget, the Longs invested an additional $40 million to ensure that the stadium was completed before the 2024 season. 

In 2023, the owners announced the new name of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Stadium. The name came from the CPKC, which is the “first and only railroad connecting Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, with over 20,000 miles of track. The final price tag for this 11,500-capacity stadium came out to $135 million. The Current sold out every game in their first season with the CPKC stadium. Despite the trials and tribulations involved with construction and financing, the owners firmly believe that this stadium stands for the future of women’s sports.