The Kansas City Current, a U.S. professional women’s soccer team playing in Kansas City, Missouri, had a historic opportunity: to build the world’s first professional women’s sports stadium. As part of this landmark initiative, the KC Current team sought to create a compelling, modern digital experience befitting a modern and dynamic sports franchise. A robust network infrastructure was crucial, so the KC Current deployed a single fiber optic network to enable all of the stadium technology associated with a state-of-the-art venue — everything from audio and sound to ticketing and concessions. Digital storytelling was a top priority, requiring best-in-class digital signage to support a range of experiences on match day and beyond. In order to achieve this, they would have to partner with a vendor — one that shared the team’s values, particularly around sustainability. After consulting with leading technology integrator AmpThink, the KC Current selected a flexible, scalable and sustainable digital signage solution from Samsung that would deliver a world-class fan experience.
The Challenge
The Solution
After considering the available options, the KC Current chose Samsung as its official display partner for CPKC Stadium. The centerpiece of Samsung’s solution is a spectacular 75-foot videoboard with a picturesque riverside backdrop complemented by U-shaped pitch boards. The multi-modal videoboard allows flexibility for dynamic content during matches and corporate events. Samsung closely collaborated with the KC Current and AmpThink to minimize the solution’s environmental impact while delivering an impactful, cohesive digital storytelling experience.
"We wanted to create an experience that would be unique to the Current — one that wouldn't be restricted by physical signage.”
– Ford Galvin, Vice President of Data Strategy and Analytics at KC Current
The Results
Thanks to Samsung’s integrated digital solution, the KC Current now has full flexibility to deliver unforgettable experiences on match days and beyond. The stadium’s AV systems enable the team to bring their storytelling vision to life, immersing fans from the moment they arrive through reinforced branding and content across the venue’s displays. It keeps fans engaged longer, benefiting sponsors and generating more revenue. Better yet, once the game is over, fans who want to stick around can remain engaged by watching post-game interviews on the videoboards. This helps better manage the flow of traffic, as opposed to fans exiting the stadium all at once as soon as the game is over.
About the Kansas City Current
Founded in December 2020, the Kansas City Current is led by the ownership group of Angie Long, Chris Long, Brittany Mahomes and Patrick Mahomes. The team competes in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The Kansas City Current opened the first stadium purpose-built for a professional women’s soccer team on March 16, 2024 in front of a sold out crowd of 11,500 fans. To receive periodic updates on CPKC Stadium at Berkley Riverfront Park, visit here to sign-up for more information or to stay connected.
The Challenge
A purpose-built, connected stadium for professional women's sports
The Kansas City Current had a trailblazing mission to build the first women’s professional sports stadium in the world. As the first of its kind, CPKC Stadium would need best-in-class technology to create compelling, modern digital experiences that today’s soccer fans couldn’t find anywhere else. And, crucially, this technology-forward stadium environment would have to do so in a way that was aligned with the team’s mission and values.
A strong network infrastructure would be essential for enabling all of the stadium technology required to realize the team’s goals for CPKC Stadium. So, the KC Current built out a single fiber optic network that would support everything a connected stadium includes, such as digital signage, audio, sound, lighting, security, broadcasts, Wi-Fi, ticketing and concessions.
Digital storytelling is fundamental to today’s fan experience, and the KC Current knew that best-in-class digital signage would be necessary to deliver it. “We wanted to create an experience that would be unique to the Current — one that wouldn’t be restricted by physical signage,” said Ford Galvin, vice president of data strategy and analytics at KC Current.
The KC Current team knew that it would be critically important to find the right technology integrator to bring their vision of a connected stadium to life. The vendor would also need to share their values, particularly around sustainability. In the end, they went with AmpThink as the integration and installation partner. “We looked at what AmpThink and Samsung did at SoFi Stadium and some of the other large-scale stadiums. We wanted to try to build a right-sized, scalable solution featuring the same type of technology and the same infrastructure as these larger stadiums have. That way, we could provide the same fan experience that you get at some of the top stadiums in the world,” Galvin added.
The Solution
A comprehensive digital storytelling experience
After evaluating the leading options, AmpThink recommended Samsung as KC Current’s digital display partner. Given Samsung’s focus on using sustainable materials and reducing its global footprint, the KC Current knew Samsung was a strong fit.
“We needed a partner that had the wherewithal and the longevity to be able to support this team for the next decade,” said Bill Anderson, president of AmpThink. “We knew that audio and visual storytelling would be really important to the overall experience. Samsung brought that as a single package that we were able to integrate. We also had the support of an engineering organization across the Samsung brands that helped make sure we were successful with the implementation,” he added.
Sustainability was a priority for this project, which is why Samsung’s sustainable approach of minimizing secondary waste through smart packaging and shipping methods was particularly advantageous. “If you just start to think about post-consumer waste, minimizing the kinds of items that would otherwise be thrown away or recycled, there was a huge focus from our mechanical engineering team on that effort. And we partnered with Samsung to make sure that got done,” Anderson said.
Samsung is dedicated to sustainability in its product production. The pitch boards were shipped in large containers, which were subsequently repurposed for storage. Additionally, Samsung prioritizes designing displays that are energy efficient. “The displays themselves are able to reduce energy consumption with different modes and settings — all built into the product,” explained Sukhmani Mohta, chief marketing and partnerships officer at Samsung Electronics America’s Display Division. For example, while the displays need to operate continuously, they can be set to dark mode to reduce energy use.
Samsung’s solution centered on a massive 75-foot main Samsung videoboard located at the end of the pitch, with a river and a bridge forming a picturesque shot behind it. This videoboard is complemented by an array of pitch boards forming a U shape within the stadium. As the KC Current team takes the field, the videoboard can draw attention to each member’s arrival with compelling visual stories. It can highlight pivotal moments for the crowd while a match is underway, elevating the excitement through replays and hype videos. Meanwhile, the pitch boards serve up sponsorship messages, inspiring brand affinity among the KC Current’s loyal fans.
The videoboard is multimodal, allowing maximum flexibility to create powerful digital storytelling experiences that are tailored not just to the home team’s soccer matches but also to larger corporate events. It can, of course, support the kind of state-of-the-art video production that fans expect on match day. But it also has two other modes — a basic mode in which you can display logos on either side of the screen before connecting an HDMI cable to it for the purposes of putting up a talking point or highlighting a photo reel, for example.
“We’ve been thoughtful about making sure that all the displays in the building have a tiered capability. We really want the team to use them to activate this building, not just during the matches but also on any day that they’re in the building or somebody on-site wants to host a concert, a corporate event or anything else. This is like a really cool AV system on steroids,” Anderson said.
The Technology
XHB-E Series
Impress fans under any weather condition. Fan-less heat dissipation technology maintains impeccable performance even in direct sunlight. It is more than twice as thin and 1.7 times lighter than previous models.
The Results
Maximum flexibility to deliver impactful moments
With an integrated Samsung solution powering a state-of-the-art digital storytelling experience, the KC Current now has maximum flexibility to deliver unforgettable experiences on match day and beyond.
“The digital signage throughout the venue enhances the fan experience by immersing them in the action. Replays and live footage of the game make sure they don’t miss a thing, and fan cams allow fans to feel like they’re a part of the game,” said Mohta. The entire fan experience — from wayfinding to watching the game — is amplified with screens.
“When I walk into the plaza before entering the stadium, I’m already hearing what’s going on. As I get closer, it starts to be reinforced — either through the displays that are around, or it’s being reinforced on the scoreboard. It just comes back to storytelling. The AV systems in the building are really the way for the team to take the vision that they have and project it to the fans who are attending,” Anderson said.
Not only does this immersive experience bring KC Current fans closer to the team they cherish, but it also helps honor and continue the legacy of teams that came before them. During the inaugural match at CPKC Stadium, the KC Current launched a special art exhibition using Samsung displays. “The 85’ers” was produced in collaboration with acclaimed portrait photographer and filmmaker Randy Bacon and consisted of portraits, written narratives, and short films that told the stories of the first U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.
“The signs excite and educate the fans,” said Mohta. When fans walk into the stadium, the signage helps build momentum and excitement for the upcoming game while also guiding them where to go.
After a match has ended, the videoboards help CPKC Stadium manage the flow of traffic. When fans linger in the stadium to watch interviews with the coach and players, it’s easier for those heading home to do so without encountering so much congestion. Meanwhile, the fans who remain may be inspired to walk around, see the stadium and exhibitions, and hang out for a while longer.
“I think the KC Current is doing a tremendous job of producing content that gets people there earlier and keeps them there longer. And of course, that’s good for all parties. It’s good for the brands because they’re getting more value from a sponsorship perspective, and that’s good for the team from a revenue perspective. Also, as somebody who’s been to a ton of venues and seen a ton of events, it’s just a great atmosphere. People want to hang out,” Anderson said.
This flexibility has also come in handy during corporate events. One corporate partner was able to activate all three of the stadium’s club spaces as well as the press conference room and the scoreboard for a special event. This partner was able to run different content in each space, creating a passport-style program in which they provided donors with unique experiences in all of these locations. At a specific moment, the corporate partner took over all of the screens to play a self-produced video announcing the launch of a new capital campaign. “That was just an ideation that they came up with that, thanks to the stadium technology and infrastructure, we were able to deliver very easily,” Galvin said.
With its cutting-edge Samsung digital signage solution, the KC Current has set a new standard for the fan experience at a professional sports venue. By investing in forward-thinking, sustainable stadium technology from the outset, the KC Current can effortlessly adapt their storytelling approach for years to come.
