Major League Soccer held it's annual Club Executive Awards Ceremony on Friday evening in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) annual convention in Philadelphia, Penn. Sporting Kansas City and its employees collected the following awards for outstanding achievements in 2013:
- Public Relations Team of the Year, accepted by Rob Thomson (Executive Vice President of Communications/Digital)
- Ticket Sales Team of the Year, accepted by Gregg Allen (Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service)
- Commissioner's Club (12,000+) for Full Season Tickets, accepted by Jordan Kelsey (Sales Manager)
- Commissioner's Club (90%+) for Full Season Ticket Renewals, accepted by Matt Evans (Director, Client Services) and Amesha Tate (Manager, Premium Services)
- All Rookie (175+ New FSEs) for New Season Tickets: Josh Frishberg (Account Executive)
- Bronze Threshold (300-399 New FSEs) for New Season Tickets: Beth Brittain, Zack Robinson and Casey Miles (Senior Account Executives)
- Bronze Threshold (10,000-14,999) for Group Tickets: Chris Flynn (Manager, Group Sales) and Zack Robinson (Senior Account Executive)
"We gather to celebrate how terrific our league has become and the real quality of our folks on the ground," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in his opening remarks. "One of the real assets, strengths and core equities in Major League Soccer is that we have so many committed people at the local level that believe in their team, this league and the sport in this country. We have one of the best staffs at the local level of any league in the world."
Sporting Kansas City is coming off a banner year for the organization in 2013 both on and off the field. The team began the year welcoming the first jersey sponsor in club history as part of a multi-year agreement with Ivy Funds and ended the season by lifting the Philip F. Anschutz trophy in front of a capacity crowd following the team's MLS Cup triumph over Real Salt Lake.
In addition to the league championship -- the first held in Kansas City -- Sporting Park hosted the 2013 MLS All-Star Game featuring Italy's AS Roma, the National Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony and the final home FIFA World Cup qualifier for the U.S. Men's National Team on the road to Brazil. These world-class events shined an international spotlight on Kansas City's transformation into the Soccer Capital of America.
Sporting KC has sold out 36 consecutive MLS matches at state-of-the-art Sporting Park and sold out of the team's 14,000 season ticket allotment for the first time in club history in 2013.
