Kansas City Current & Bold Reuse Set a New Standard for Sustainability at CPKC Stadium

Overview

In March of 2024, CPKC Stadium, home of the Kansas City Current, opened as the first stadium in the world purpose-built for women’s professional sports. With a clear commitment to sustainability since its inception, the team partnered with Bold Reuse to launch a bold initiative: all drinkware served inside the stadium would be reusable or recyclable, eliminating single-use plastic bottles and cups entirely.

This initiative marked the first implementation of a reusable cup system at a major venue in Kansas City, and the first time a reuse system has been integrated from day one at a newly launched stadium–setting a powerful precedent for future sports venues nationwide.

The Challenge

Each year, more than 400 stadiums across the United States generate an estimated 2.16 billion single-use plastic cups. Most of these end up in landfills or as litter. This staggering statistic represents a critical challenge for the sports and entertainment industries and highlights an urgent environmental issue.

At CPKC Stadium, home of the Kansas City Current, that trend stops here. 

The Bold Reuse Solution

When CPKC Stadium opened its gates in 2024, it was already making history. Leading the way for women’s sports and sustainability, the stadium was committed from day one to using reusable cups for all poured beverages stadium-wide.

This pioneering move reflects the club’s deep commitment to environmental stewardship, community leadership, and fan experience. Every poured beverage is served into a Bold Reuse reusable cup, offered at no extra cost to guests. After enjoying their drinks, fans return their cups to clearly marked return bins throughout the stadium.

From there, Bold Reuse takes over, ensuring each cup is inspected, sanitized, and prepared for reuse at the next event.

From Planning to Full-Scale Implementation:

With the decision to go all-in on reuse from the beginning, the Kansas City Current worked closely with Bold Reuse to execute a comprehensive strategy to ensure a seamless fan experience and operational rollout. Key steps included:

• Product Development: Sourcing and designing high-quality, reusable drinkware that met the operational standards of a high-volume stadium.

• Infrastructure Setup: Installing clearly branded cup return bins, setting up back-of-house logistics, and preparing storage and handling systems.

• Staff & Vendor Training: Equipping concession teams and stadium staff with training on reuse best practices, collection protocol, and customer interaction.

• Communication Strategy: Ensuring fans understood the new system through signage, announcements, digital channels, and staff engagement.

• Ongoing Support: Bold Reuse provided continual program audits, seasonal staff refreshers, and flexible logistics support.

How It Works for Fans

1. Order: Fans receive poured beverages in a high-quality reusable cup.

2. Return: After use, fans drop cups into designated return bins.

3. Collection: Post-event, cups are collected by Bold Reuse and transported to their local wash hub.

4. Sanitization: Cups are inspected for quality, sanitized to the highest health standards, and repacked for future games.

5. Reuse: Clean cups are returned to CPKC Stadium, ready to be put back in play.

The Impact (So Far)

Since launching in March 2024, KC Current fans have made a measurable difference:

• 189,000+ cups diverted from landfills (and counting)

• Averaging more than 100,000 cups diverted from landfills per season

• 98% cup return rate across all home games

• 9,207 pounds of waste diverted

• Positive fan sentiment shared widely across Instagram, Facebook, and other channels

A live impact counter is updated in real time at: boldreuse.com/kc-current.

"CPKC Stadium partnered to save 114,688 single-use cups from landfills. That’s equivalent to 5,448 pounds of waste diverted. So, of course we look forward to being bigger and better and bolder in 2025." Dani Welniak, Executive Director of Communications, Kansas City Current