The new home of the Oklahoma State women's soccer team will be named Neal Patterson Stadium, Oklahoma State University announced on Monday.
The Oklahoma State/A&M Board of Regents formally approved the name last Friday, paying tribute the Oklahoma State alumnus and Sporting Kansas City co-owner and who passed away last July.
Patterson was the major benefactor of the $20-million soccer facility, which will be officially dedicated on Aug. 19 prior to the Cowgirls' match against Oklahoma.
"We will be forever grateful for the support of Neal and his family. Having his name on the stadium will help to ensure that his legacy will be recognized by all of our staff, players, fans and alumni," Oklahoma State head coach Colin Carmichael said in a release. "Neal's love for OSU and passion for the sport of soccer are what made this dream become a reality. We will continue to strive to honor Neal's memory and make his family proud of the OSU Soccer program."
Patterson Stadium will be a unique showcase for college soccer, accommodating 2,500 fans in permanent seats. The venue includes two suites, club levels, a north terrace area and seating designed specifically for OSU students and a video scoreboard. Team facilities include locker rooms, meeting areas, kitchen facilities, sports medicine areas and equipment rooms.
Patterson was a principal investor in the five-person OnGoal LLC, the group that purchased Sporting Kansas City, formerly the Kansas City Wizards, from Hunt Sports Group in 2006. He was also the chairman and CEO of Cerner Corporation, a company he co-founded in 1979.
Today, Cerner is the world's largest publicly traded health information technology company with $4.8 billion in revenues in 2016 and approximately 24,000 associates worldwide. FORTUNE recently named Cerner one of the world's most admired companies.
