Compass Minerals National Performance Center

Kansas City, United States

Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Kansas City has been at the cutting edge of soccer infrastructure since moving into the award-winning Children’s Mercy Park in 2011. In terms of Major League Soccer venues, it’s second to none. But it’s also just one part of the equation. The training that happens in between game days is equally important and requires innovative spaces of its own.

To take Sporting’s pursuit of championships to the next level, a state-of-the-art training facility was in order. Ownership didn’t stop there, however. It set its sights on a facility that would serve as a hub for three world-class organizations and become a national draw in itself. Team officials trusted us to help realize that vision.

Compass Minerals National Performance Center is not only the new training home for Sporting Kansas City but the United States Soccer Federation as well. Children’s Mercy Hospital makes up the third tenant and played a key role in the facility’s sports medicine development. Taken one by one, each organization’s efforts are impressive. The true impact, however, can be felt when all of their spaces come together in one place.

The $75-million, 50-acre complex features an abundance of intuitively-designed performance amenities. “Disney World for trainers” as Sporting KC’s director of sports performance put it to The Kansas City Star.

There’s the training fields: A “super pitch” comprised of three natural grass fields similar to the playing surface at Children’s Mercy Park and two synthetic pitches for U.S. Soccer coaches and referees to train on year-round. In between those synthetic fields is a state-of-the-art, two-story coaching pavilion known as the “pitch lab.” Inside, audio-video technology allows for real-time instruction to flow from the lab to the pitch and vice versa.

Sporting KC and U.S. Soccer share the main facility, while the Children’s Mercy Sports Medicine Center resides in a branch of the lower floor. Throughout are state-of-the-art amenities including a radiology center, a gait lab and cryotherapy room.

The $75-million, 50-acre complex features an abundance of intuitively-designed performance amenities. “Disney World for trainers” as Sporting KC’s director of sports performance put it to The Kansas City Star.

There’s the training fields: A “super pitch” comprised of three natural grass fields similar to the playing surface at Children’s Mercy Park and two synthetic pitches for U.S. Soccer coaches and referees to train on year-round. In between those synthetic fields is a state-of-the-art, two-story coaching pavilion known as the “pitch lab.” Inside, audio-video technology allows for real-time instruction to flow from the lab to the pitch and vice versa.

Sporting KC and U.S. Soccer share the main facility, while the Children’s Mercy Sports Medicine Center resides in a branch of the lower floor. Throughout are state-of-the-art amenities including a radiology center, a gait lab and cryotherapy room.

IMPACT. The center is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between a professional sports team, a national sports federation and a sports medicine provider. In the process, it’s become the premier home for training and professional soccer coach and referee development in the United States. More than 700 coaches used the space during 44 U.S. Soccer Coaching Education courses in its first year. And thanks to Children’s Mercy’s involvement, the general public have access to these world-class facilities as well. In the facility’s first year of operation, the hospital conducted over 5,500 physical therapy visits.

No stone has been left unturned. They thought of everything.