CPKC Stadium, home of the Kansas City Current professional women’s soccer team in Missouri, has earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED certification is among the most widely used green building rating systems in the world.

“We are thrilled to earn LEED Gold certification for CPKC Stadium following countless hours of hard work and dedication,” said Kansas City Current co-owners Angie and Chris Long. “Sustainability has been a passionate part of our vision around CPKC Stadium from the beginning.”

As the first stadium in the world purpose-built for a women’s professional team, CPKC Stadium will also be the first LEED-certified professional female sports stadium and the first LEED Gold stadium in Missouri. The new facility opened in March.

CPKC Stadium achieved LEED certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions in areas including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

“CPKC Stadium’s LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said Peter Templeton, president and CEO of the USGBC. “LEED was created to make the world a better place and revolutionize our buildings and communities by providing everyone with access to healthy, green, and high-performing buildings. CPKC Stadium is a prime example of how the innovative work of project teams can create local solutions that contribute to making a global difference.”

The stadium’s design was created to incorporate healthy building principles. Through an integrative process engaging design and construction teams, building ownership and end users, the project team used a systems approach to identify synergies and strategies that would contribute to a healthy, high-performance facility.

Highlights of CPKC’s environmental performance include:

• 24% energy cost savings reduction from a baseline building;
• Potable water savings of 1,506,434 gallons annually—the equivalent of more than two Olympic-size pools every year;
• More than 30% of the total site area is dedicated to vegetated open space;
• 14% of the stadium’s total energy consumption is generated from on-site solar panels, which avoids the burning of 38 tons of coal annually; and
• Stadium site was selected for its access to public transportation and the Riverfront Heritage trail to vastly reduce the number of single-user car transportation to the site.

CPKC Stadium is also a zero-waste venue. All drinkware across CPKC Stadium is reusable or recyclable, and no single-use plastic bottles or cups are served inside the stadium.

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