Sports (Tech+Biz+Medicine) Thrives In Kansas City
Amazing things are happening in Sports all over the world. Spectacular programs such as the Dodgers Accelerator and Stadia Ventures; spaces such as The Pitch; Venture Capital Funds such as Will Ventures; and resources such as Starters, Sports Business Journal, and SportTechie continue to add to the conversation. Sports is even getting its very own research powerhouse, the Sports Innovation Lab (think Gartner or Forrester for sports).
I have found that there is a unique concentration of awesome sports and sports tech activity going on locally as well. It is my goal to use this note as a way to journal the many interesting things I see happening around me. Please let me know if I need to add someone to this list. Also come out to the next StartersKC meetup and meet this amazing community.
StartersKC (https://twitter.com/StartersKC) is bringing together Kansas City’s amazing and dynamic sports tech scene. The ecosystem consists of a wide variety of significant players:
- Stadium Design (Populous, HOK)
- Professional Teams (Chiefs, Royals, Sporting KC, Mavericks, Comets, T-bones, FC Kansas City, KC Phantoms, KC Tornadoes)
- Sports Advertising (Lundmark, MBB, VML, Woodruff Sweitzer)
- Sports Ad Tech (SportsPhotos.com)
- Compelling Facilities (Truman Sports Complex, Sprint Center, Kansas Speedway, Children’s Mercy Park, Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, proposed Mosaic Arena)
- Tech (EON Sports, FanThreeSixty, Garmin, HealtheAthlete, JustPlay Sports Solutions, Nile Media Group, Rack Performance, ShotTracker)
- Startup (Athlete Network, FEWDM, Helmet Tracker, Innerzone Athletics, Lazser Down, League Ally, Nutrilyze, OYO Fitness, The LED Rabbit, XReps)
- Sports Business (AEG, Premier Sports Management, Sprint)
- Associations (Drug Free Sport, KC Sports, NABC, NACWAA, NSCAA, United Soccer Coaches)
- Collegiate Sports (multiple regional NCAA D1 programs, NAIA (Avila, Baker, Benedictine, MNU), UMKC)
- Talent Pipeline (Recruit Look)
- Recreational Sports Tech (KC Crew)
- Sports Media (610 Sports, 810 Sports, FSKC, KC Star, Spectrum Sports)
- Sporting Goods/Wear (ProAthlete Inc)
- Sports Medicine (KU Hospital, Children’s Mercy, Mosaic Life Care)
- National Athletics (National Training and Coaching Development Center)
- eSports (Local Legends Gaming, NAC eSports, SoPro)
- Exits (DARI Motion (Scientific Analytics), Digital Sports Ventures (Digital Broadcasting Group))
- Closed (Edge Up Sports, Gameday)
This community is starting to come together in an interesting series of conversations (http://www.meetup.com/Kansas-City-Sports-Tech-Meetup/) and participate in a broader national conversation (https://twitter.com/StartersHQ).
Let’s continue to build and contribute to grow this ecosystem!
