Kansas City Chiefs
An NFL team with the heritage and tradition of the Kansas City Chiefs can pick and choose any turf company it desires. So when the founding member of the old American Football League chose Sprinturf to not only install a new indoor practice field, but an outdoor youth field as well, it spoke volumes.
“We started out with the idea that we were going to add a synthetic surface to our practice fields, predominantly used by the football team,” says Lynn Stiles, the Chiefs’ Vice President of Football Operations, “because we were going through a renovation project to build more of an updated athletic facility for our team and administration. As we went thought that process we wanted to investigate all of the different types of synthetic fields.”
Stiles and Andre Bruce, the Chiefs’ Sports Field Manager, went through an exhaustive evaluation process that included the best quality, the best price, the best management team, and the best possible product long range.
During the process, it came to Stiles’ attention that through the National Football League’s youth program, the organization could match dollars in its efforts to get a synthetic field for the youth of the community.
“As we researched this, going back to the original focus of what we would like best for our team, Sprinturf ended up being the best field for the youth program, as well,” Stiles says. “As it turned out, we found that Sprinturf was a very interesting product and under new leadership. [Chairman of the Board] Tom Lynch has a wonderful reputation as a person, a coach, and an athletic director. As we continued to research the company, we discovered that [Executive Vice President of Product Development] Bruce Cheskin was a very capable person. He knew the product and the industry. He was also very honest and up front. And [President/CEO] Stanley Greene is a very impressive young man.”
Stiles and Bruce then visited the Philadelphia-area Sprinturf headquarters and came away impressed.
“They had everything we were looking for,” says Stiles. “They were very cooperative, very up front, and very congenial. The thing that I’ve always invested in is people, much more so than product. We feel like we got both with Sprinturf, and we feel very good about it.” Stiles adds, “Everyone felt good about the product. We felt very good about the installation process. They were on time and on target. They finished and met their deadlines. The end result was very positive. If anyone had the opportunity to come to Kansas City and visit our facilities, it wouldn’t take them very long to recognize the quality we were able to put together.”
Installation began this summer and wrapped up in late July.
Clark Hunt, the Chiefs’ Owner/Chairman of the Board, and Carl Peterson
, President/CEO and General Manager, were strong advocates of the youth field. What makes the situation unique is that the youth field is adjacent to where the Chiefs practice. Albeit there are no conflicts, as the more than 10,000 youth players from the greater Kansas City area use the field on the weekends when the Chiefs are either prepping for home games or are on the road. Field time is scheduled through the Chiefs community relations department.
“It’s a win-win,” Stiles says. “The youth and the community both become familiar with Kansas City Chiefs football. We’re in the business of football and kids love to play football. We are happy to give the youth this kind of opportunity. There are not too many kids that can come and play on a field next to where the big guys play.”
To learn more about our growing company, our high performance products and our commitment to customer care, call Sprinturf today at 1.877.686.TURF or visit us online at www.sprinturf.com.
