Even before he properly confesses the people behind Sporting Kansas City have decided that Livestrong is a tainted brand that no longer shares their spirit of partnership. Their stadium which was renamed Livestrong Sporting Park will now be known as plain old Sporting Park. For the full story read CEO Rob Heineman's statement below.
March 8, 2011 was one of the proudest moments in our organization’s history. On that day, we officially announced a revolutionary relationship with LIVESTRONG. As we stated then, we were determined to utilize the naming rights of our beautiful new stadium to encourage social change. We were thrilled to have a foundation of the stature of LIVESTRONG share this same interest. Most importantly, we were honored with the opportunity to support the fight against cancer nationally, as well as here in Kansas City. LIVESTRONG appeared to be the ideal partner for turning our vision into action.
There have been several instances over the last 22 months when our partnership with LIVESTRONG has been called into question, both by media and the general public. Throughout this entire period, we have staunchly defended the LIVESTRONG mission and never wavered in our continuing support of the cause. Our plan was that through collaborative support from LIVESTRONG, we would not just meet our stated donation goal, but exceed it by a wide margin. We were excited about the potential to engage with other foundation partners and bring new special events to Kansas City.
Over the course of the past year, it became clear that LIVESTRONG no longer shared the same spirit of partnership, despite our perseverance to the contrary. We realized at the time this could be the beginning of a tumultuous period for the foundation. We were patient as they sorted through these issues. Despite the distractions, leadership from LIVESTRONG and Sporting Club were actively engaged in discussions to redefine expectations for both parties. Based on assurances from key LIVESTRONG leadership, we believed this ongoing dialogue was very positive.
This morning we were disappointed to learn LIVESTRONG is utilizing aggressive tactics designed to force us into an unsatisfactory arrangement. We willingly admit we were not expecting the foundation to treat a partner in this manner. Even more surprising is that LIVESTRONG would take this action in the midst of a significant transitional phase for their organization.
Our faith and trust in this partnership have been permanently damaged; therefore we are terminating our agreement with LIVESTRONG, effectively immediately. As a result of this decision, our stadium will now be referred to as Sporting Park. While we are ending this relationship, our support of the fight against cancer will endure. We look forward to introducing new initiatives to assist these efforts in Kansas City.
