Children’s Mercy Park

Redefining the Mid-Size Soccer Stadium

As the third home for the Major League Soccer team Sporting Kansas City, the mission for project team, led by Populous, was to design a home that would set a new standard for mid-size soccer stadium design. This goal is achieved in the statement of the undulating canopy, with translucent panels to admit sunlight, and the many amenities that provide an intimate game-day experience for fans. The 340,000-square-foot stadium accommodates 18,500 seats, 36 luxury suites, and has the flexibility to host rugby, lacrosse and outdoor concerts.

We provided advanced structural analysis, structural design and connection design.

Highlights

• The project was executed on an ultra-fast, 22-month design and construction schedule in a close partnership of the design and construction teams. The first game, between Sporting KC and the Chicago Fire, was held June 9, 2011.
• The stadium is designed for a future upper deck that will add 7,000 seats to the south and east stands.
• The facility features a helical-shaped, partially translucent, 145,000-square-foot canopy that covers all seating sections.
• Bound on all sides by major roadways ad utility corridors, the tight site is further complicated by a 40-foot elevation change across the stadium footprint. The significant change in elevation required cutting into the bedrock to level the field, with a majority of the structure supported on shallow foundations.
• Top-down construction methods improved the sequence of construction, eliminated the need for temporary shoring, avoided the excavation of existing utilities, and eliminated unbalanced lateral earth pressures on the stadium structure.
• To help meet the tight deadline, we used a 3D BIM platform, enabling us to share the Revit model with the construction team and meet the requirement for early mill orders.
• Our fully detailed connection designs were used for pricing and fabrication, and sped up the RFI and submittal review process.