Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Sporting KC unveils new primary jersey for upcoming season


SportingKC.com

Sporting Kansas City unveiled the team's new primary jersey for the 2013 and 2014 seasons on Wednesday during a special Season Ticket Member event held at Sporting Park as part of Major League Soccer's Jersey Week.

The new Sporting KC home uniform will be available to purchase online at shop.sportingkc.com beginning Thursday and will also be sold at the team's official Watch Party for the Sporting Kansas City season opener on Saturday inside the Boulevard Members Club at Sporting Park.

"Fashion is an important element of the Sporting Kansas City brand and the new 2013 primary kit takes this focus to new levels," said Sporting Kansas City Vice President of Stadium and Brand Revenue John Moncke. "We wanted the jersey to be a modern kit that imbues the ethos of our brand, so we played a very hands-on role in the design process."

The new primary jersey showcases the team's Sporting Blue and Dark Indigo colors through a trendy asymmetrical design that emphasizes the state line brand element, which was introduced during the club's rebrand in 2010.

The state line represents the shared border between Kansas and Missouri, with Sporting Kansas City having strong ties to both sides of the state line.

Additionally, at the time of launch, the Sporting KC home uniform is the only adidas jersey in the world with the company's iconic three stripes shown in a different color on each sleeve. Major League Soccer's exclusive supplier, adidas has provided the club's uniforms since the inaugural season in 1996.

Ivy Funds, Sporting Kansas City's presenting jersey partner and official investment management partner, is prominently showcased with the asset management firm's logo centrally located on the front of the new home uniform.

Headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., Ivy Funds entered into a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Sporting Kansas City that was announced at the 2013 MLS SuperDraft last month.

In addition to Sporting Kansas City's home and away uniforms, the team will release an alternate third jersey in conjunction with a home match during the 2013 season.

Wednesday's launch event, presented by Budweiser, featured Robb Heineman (Sporting Club CEO), Thomas Butch (CEO and President of Ivy Funds Distributor, Inc.) and Peter Vermes (Sporting Kansas City Manager) alongside Sporting Kansas City players.