KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Perhaps more than anyone else, Sporting KC president Robb Heineman knows how important the 2011 season is for Major League Soccer in Kansas City.
In just a few days, the newly christened Sporting squad will take the field in Carson, Calif., against Chivas USA in the first of 10 road games that are a prelude to the opening of the club’s new stadium, LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.
[inlinenode:327341]With on-field expectations higher than in previous years, a Designated Player in the fold in Omar Bravo and a glorious new facility to enjoy in the coming months, Heineman will be the conductor in an exciting year for one of MLS’s original franchises.
MLSsoccer.com had a chance to sit down with Heineman at the team’s media day this week and the discussion centered around the start of the season, goals for the year and the possibility that the team will have a jersey sponsor lined up in the coming weeks.
MLSsoccer.com:We’ve been talking about this for the last six months, but this is a big season for the organization, the team and the fans. Right now, how do you feel about the season’s impending start?
Heineman: Anxious. I think we feel anxious to get things going. It is a landmark year for us with lots of different attributes that we are going to need to introduce and lots of different things that we are going to have to pull off well, whether it’s on the field or off. Just anxious and want to make sure that we deliver a real high quality experience for people.
MLSsoccer.com:Through all the preparations, the thing you’ve really harped on is that the product on the field is the glue that really holds all this together. How do you feel like that side of club has progressed since last season?
Heineman: I think we have a good plan. I do feel very good about the continuity that we have within the team. I think we are going to constantly try to tinker with players. There are a number of different things we are working on around that. We feel good with the squad that we have. We feel good with the coaching staff that we have. Our expectation and goal is to win MLS Cup.
MLSsoccer.com:Baseline would be playoffs then?
Heineman: Got to make the playoffs. Absolutely have to make the playoffs. Having missed for the last two years is not right, so we have to get there this year at a minimum. We need to start aspiring to win championships. We’ve got everything else in the organization to make that happen, so on the field has to have the same set of expectations.
[inlinenode:330084]MLSsoccer.com:A lot of the media chatter and commentary following the christening of LIVESTRONG Sporting Park has been that the organization and ownership are showing a commitment to innovation and looking ahead. Does that help validate or reinforce any of this for you?
Heineman: We’ve made it pretty clear that we are going to try some different things. If people call that innovative, that’s great. We appreciate that and respect that very much, but we’re not going to stand pat on anything that we do. We are going to try to push the edge of the envelope. Hopefully, we’ll do that in a couple weeks around our jersey. Hopefully, the team continues to do that on the field.
MLSsoccer.com:To be clear, are you saying that a jersey sponsor is close to be finalized?
Heineman: Definitely. We have a couple different candidates that we are working on, both of whom we think would be excellent candidates. They match up very well with the branding theme that we’ve been working through. It’s something that we would like to get done as soon as possible.
MLSsoccer.com: I know that is something that most clubs would like to have done before the season starts. That’s not something you are averse to doing a couple weeks in then?
Heineman: We want it to be the right sponsor so the timing is really irrelevant to me. It’s got to be the right sponsor and the right benefit to our members. That is what we are focused on.
MLSsocccer.com: Are these local or national organizations?
Heineman: They are national companies that have a local presence.
MLSsoccer.com:Where do things stand as far as the timeline of the stadium construction? Everything still on schedule?
Heineman: Everything is on plan. I think there are a couple attributes that are ahead and a couple that a few days behind. Nothing that is giving us any cause for concern at this point.
