Initial planning Originally,
Sporting Club, the team's ownership group, planned to move to southeast
Kansas City, Missouri on land previously occupied by
Bannister Mall. The redevelopment plan, called
The Trails, was passed on December 13, 2007. The last package of economic incentives, a $30 million tax rebate, was passed on November 21, 2008. The stadium's planned site had been demolished to prepare the site for infrastructure. It was intended to open in 2011 with a capacity of 18,500 seats. However, the project was placed on hiatus due to the
Great Recession, and the stadium developer eventually sought to move the new project near the Village West retail center in
Kansas City, Kansas, near the
Kansas Speedway and
CommunityAmerica Ballpark. The developer of The Trails complex sought additional borrowing authority from Kansas City, Missouri, to finance the building of the soccer stadium and its associated amateur soccer complex. However, the city was unwilling to provide the desired financing, leading the developer to seek a new site across the state line.
Construction and
Tim Reynolds performing at the 2011 edition of
Farm Aid at the stadium in its inaugural year. In September 2009, the developer asked
Wyandotte County and
Kansas state officials for permission to use revenues from existing
tax increment financing in the
Village West area to help finance the soccer complex. On December 17, Sporting KC president, Robb Heineman provided an update on the stadium situation published on team official website and blog, basically putting the Kansas City, Kansas location as final, pending the signature of the final agreements. On December 21, construction machinery was already on the Legends site waiting to break ground on the site. On January 19, Wyandotte County approved the bonds to help finance the stadium, and on January 20, the groundbreaking ceremony happened with Sporting's CEO, Robb Heineman, using heavy machinery to move dirt on the construction site.
Inaugural season The opening match took place on June 9, 2011, as Sporting played the
Chicago Fire to a scoreless draw in front of an over-capacity crowd of 19,925. The first goal would come days later during the
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup when
Dwayne De Rosario converted a penalty kick for
Canada against
Panama. Sporting's first goal came from
C. J. Sapong in a 1–0 win over the
San Jose Earthquakes, the club's first victory in the stadium. Sporting would finish its first regular season in the stadium with a 9–2–6 record at home. Average attendance was 17,810 for the year or 96.4% of capacity.
2012–present In the stadium's second season, Sporting KC averaged an attendance of 19,404, 105% of its capacity. That year, Sporting KC made it to the playoffs but lost to the Houston Dynamo in the
conference semifinals, and won the
US Open Cup by defeating the Seattle Sounders. In 2013, Sporting KC once again raised their average attendance. Because of their 2012 US Open Cup win, they qualified for the
CONCACAF Champions League, and played games both in the MLS and in CONCACAF. Sporting Park also hosted to a World Cup qualifying match between the United States and Jamaica with an attendance of 18,467, where the United States shut out Jamaica 2–0, and the
2013 MLS All-Star Game between
A.S. Roma and the MLS All-Stars with an attendance of 21,175, where A.S. Roma beat the All-Stars 3–1. Sporting KC set an attendance record of 21,650 in the playoffs when they defeated the Houston Dynamo 2–1 to advance to the
MLS Cup Finals against Real Salt Lake, Sporting won in penalty kicks, the second final in two years to be hosted at Sporting Park. Also in 2013, it was announced that the 2014 through 2018
NCAA Division II Football Championships would be played at Sporting Park, moving from
Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama. It was also announced that the 2015
NCAA College Cup would be played at Sporting Park. In 2015, the stadium hosted
FC Kansas City's home opener against fellow
NWSL side
Sky Blue FC. The stadium also hosted two FC Kansas City matches in 2016, once again serving as the team's secondary stadium. The stadium announced in 2016 that they are adding a
Skycam, as well as robo-cams behind the goals and on top of the stadium. During a
CONCACAF Champions League match against
Deportivo Toluca F.C. on February 21, 2019, a metal railing overlooking the southwest tunnel broke and caused several fans to fall. Toluca winger
Felipe Pardo was injured with a toe fracture because of the railing.
Kansas City Current, 2022–2023 FC Kansas City folded after the
2017 NWSL season and its franchise rights were relocated to
Salt Lake City, Utah, becoming expansion club
Utah Royals FC. After the
2020 NWSL season, the Royals folded and its franchise rights were relocated back to Kansas City, under different ownership as an expansion team and with a temporary moniker of
Kansas City NWSL. The team attempted to rent Sporting Park as a home venue for the
2021 NWSL season, but Sporting KC declined to rent the venue to the team, which played only one home match of its
inaugural season's home matches at the venue. The team played the rest of the season's home matches at
Legends Field, a baseball stadium home to minor-league team
Kansas City Monarchs and a former venue for the Wizards from 2008 to 2010. During the 2021 season, KC NWSL announced plans to build
its own stadium on the Berkley Riverfront Park of
Kansas City, Missouri, with the new venue expected to open before the 2024 season. After announcing the new stadium, the team announced on September 22, 2021, that it would also play all of its home matches at Sporting Park from the
2022 season to the new stadium's opening. The team rebranded to the Kansas City Current on October 31, 2021, during their final match at Legends Field.
Kansas Jayhawks football Due to renovations at
David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, the
University of Kansas football team played two home games at Sporting Park in 2024. Both games were against non-conference opponents; the home Big XII conference games were played at Arrowhead Stadium. ==International matches==