While it makes perfect business sense for franchise owners and their respective sponsors, it’s always an interesting moment for sports fans when the stadium they’ve spent years going to suddenly changes its name. Stadiums become a sort of Mecca for sports fans, and it’s a weird feeling when that identity changes. But, Children’s Mercy Park new partner centers around sustainability, looking to reduce the stadium’s environmental footprint.

Firstly, Let's take a look at when the Kansas City Chiefs’ beloved Arrowhead Stadium added the Government Employees Health Association (GEHA) to their sponsor list, becoming GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in March 2021, or secondly, when the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Heinz Field became Acrisure Stadium in July 2022. 

With new sponsorships comes new opportunities, though, and that’s exactly what’s happening right now just across the border from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Kansas with Children’s Mercy Park, home of Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. While Children’s Mercy Park will remain the stadium’s name, Sporting KC picked up a brand new sponsor for their home field: Huhtamaki North America, the Western Hemisphere’s operating base for Finnish consumer packaging company Huhtamäki.

© Brent Flanders (cc: by-nc-nd)

Unfortunately for Kansas City soccer fans, Sporting KC hasn’t seen much success on the field this season, struggling to 26 points in 25 matches to begin the season… good for the No. 11 spot out of the 14 teams in MLS’ Western Conference. As such, the Wizards have some of the worst odds of winning the MLS championship in 2023, sitting at or around +10000 at Kansas Sportsbooks, many of which have Kansas sports betting promos to help get you started if you’re new to the world of sports betting (or a returning wagerer). Sporting KC isn’t dead in the water yet, but their playoff chances are on life support. 

Luckily, the new deal with Huhtamaki North America ensures that the Wizards will be some of the biggest winners among sports clubs across the country—off the field, at least. That’s because Huhtamaki’s entire brand centers around sustainability, looking to reduce the stadium’s environmental footprint with the goal of producing zero waste at the stadium by 2027. Environmental concerns hold a massive place in the public consciousness right now, with average temperature records being set almost every day and “once in a century” ecological disasters occurring on a yearly basis. 

Huhtamaki plans to achieve that goal by prioritizing fully-recyclable packaging for their food products, as well as throughout the organization, using their expertise in supply chain management to incorporate compostable or recyclable items wherever possible, both at Children’s Mercy Park and at other training and practice venues operated by the club. Huhtamaki’s devotion to the Kansas City community reaches even farther than Sporting KC’s facilities, though. The company supports a pair of initiatives, Sporting Sustainability and The Victory Project, which aim to improve the lives of the people of Kansas City. 

© Brent Flanders (cc: by-nc-nd)

Per the Sporting KC website, Sporting Sustainability works to “raise awareness around the importance of recycling and composting, renewable energy sources and water conservation.”  As for the business side of things, the sponsorship means that Children’s Mercy Park’s club seating will now bear the Huhtamaki name: if you’re looking to catch a game from the box seats, you’ll be sitting in the Huhtamaki Shield Club for at least the next five years, which is how long the initial deal is set to last for. The deal began a little over a week into the 2023 MLS season, and so it will reach its conclusion in 2027—the year Huhtamaki has set as the goal post to reach their zero waste aspirations.