Kansas City Current is the permanent name of the National Women’s Soccer League based in the city of its name. The team unveiled the branding which keeps the teal, red and navy colors the team used in 2021, at halftime of Saturday’s season final at home after playing its entire first season in the league under temporary branding.
The crest prominently shows “KC” with the flow of a river running through it, meant to represent the Missouri River which runs through the city and partially separates the Missouri and Kansas sides of the city. The two stars in the crest represent each of those states, though they might visually also evoke the memories of FC Kansas City’s two NWSL championships. FC Kansas City was replaced by Utah Royals FC, which was then replaced by the team now known as the Kansas City Current.
The river theme plays off the team’s recent announcement of its plans to build a new stadium on the banks of the Missouri River in leadership hopes is a revitalization of the riverfront area just north of downtown.
“From moment one, we knew the deep importance of our brand announcement and how critical it was for us to select a brand that our community could be proud of and rally around,” co-owner Chris Long said. “Most notably, the time we spent researching and listening to our fans, our players and our community was the foundation for us to make this decision. Across every stakeholder group, we heard words like ambitious, fierce, powerful, visionary and inclusive. Immediately, our entire team had this vision of an unstoppable force churning below the surface in the heartland. When we solidified the locations for our training facility and stadium on the Missouri River, we all knew the name had to be Kansas City Current.”
The team went by the name Kansas City NWSL — KC NWSL and KC WoSo, shorthand, throughout the 2021 season. The franchise rights were acquired in December 2020 upon the folding of Utah Royals FC. With only three months to get up and running, team ownership decided to take its time on permanent branding, and instead played under the temporary name with a temporary crest featuring red, navy, and teal colors. Lead times for custom Nike gear are often a year or more.
Last week, Kansas City announced plans to build a $70 million, privately-financed stadium with the NWSL team as the primary tenant, a first for the league. The roughly 11,000-seat stadium would open in 2024, per reports. Last month, the team announced plans for a $15 million, privately-financed training facility in Riverside, Missouri.
Kansas City will play home games at Children’s Mercy Park, home of MLS’ Sporting KC, in 2022. In 2021, the NWSL side played home games next door at Legends Field, a minor-league baseball stadium which patched grass over the dirt and is believed to have the smallest field dimensions in the NWSL. The move across the street in 2022, along with the long-term prospects of a new, customized stadium, will be significant upgrades for the newly branded Kansas City Current.
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