Team behind KC Current, CPKC Stadium honored as Entrepreneurs of the Year

Chris and Angie Long scored another big win Thursday — joining the roster of Kansas Citians honored as UMKC’s Entrepreneurs of the Year — amid an evening that celebrated the world of athletics and the leaders who make the KC sports scene shine. 

“We feel very proud that we have set a bar,” said Angie Long, co-owner of the Kansas City Current, as well as CPKC Stadium, the first purpose-built women’s professional sports stadium. “Everyone is now raising their game and aiming to be that.”

The Henry W. Bloch School of Management at University of Kansas City-Missouri brought the Longs to the Copaken Stage at H&R Block’s World Headquarters in downtown Kansas City Thursday for a salute to their ongoing contributions.

The couple received recognition for introducing their National Women’s Soccer League franchise to Kansas City. They were also honored for their achievements with Palmer Square Capital Management, overseeing $29 billion assets under management.

“We get to lead two amazing organizations, both of which have powerful platforms to be a positive force on a global basis,” said Chris Long.

Chris Long speaks Oct. 27 during a fireside chat with ACG Kansas City (Association for Corporate Growth); photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Palmer Square kick start

“The Kansas City Current would not exist without Palmer Square and the massive success that it has had,” Chris Long said Oct. 27 during a fireside chat with ACG Kansas City (Association for Corporate Growth).

Angie and Chris Long speak after being honored with UMKC’s Kansas City Entrepreneur of the Year Award; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Chris Long is the founder of Palmer Square Capital Management, an asset manager focused on corporate and structured credit; Angie Long serves as chief investment officer and one of two principal owners of Palmer Square.

“Investing is so important, if done right,” said Chris Long during their Thursday acceptance speech at the Copaken Stage. “We’ve been very fortunate to have this team of people around us that have driven incredible investment performance.” 

Founded in 2009 with two employees handling $10 million in assets, the Mission Woods-based company has now grown to 59 employees managing about $29 billion. 

Chris Long also serves on the boards of the Kansas City Sports Commission and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.

“It’s a multiplier effect,” said Chris Long when touching on how his work is creating a positive impact on clients by giving them financial freedom and in return, having clients feel more secure and charitable toward the community.

“We do a lot with the endowment world,” he said. “If you do a great job for them (higher education), they’d be more secure with their budgets, and they feel more secure with their capital expenditures.”

“It’s a lucrative job, we feel very fortunate for that. We took a lot of that capital and put it right back in this community by starting the Kansas City Current,” the duo said.

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Focused on the (KC) Current

Angie and Chris Long took a risk by purchasing and relocating the KC Current team in the heart of the pandemic, they said, but they knew that creating a major platform to elevate women’s sports was well worth it.

Angie and Chris Long offer their acceptance speech for UMKC’s Kansas City Entrepreneur of the Year Award; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

“We had a full view coming from an investment background on what the reward can be not only from a monetary perspective, but for this community, and what it would mean to have those female role models right in our backyard,” said Chris Long at the ACG event in October.

RELATED: Designed by women, for athletes: How the woman-led team behind KC Current’s new stadium is ‘equalizing the playing field’ for women’s sports 

The pair, alongside Patrick and Brittney Mahomes, co-own the $118 CPKC million stadium at Kansas City’s Berkley Riverfront. 

“It’s fulfilling. We spent the first 25 years of our career, being stewards of capital for institutions and families, and now we are stewards of a community asset,” said Angie Long.

The couple has ambitious plans for the CPKC stadium, targeting a baseline 60 to 80 events yearly, spanning NCAA, FIFA, concerts, rugby, lacrosse, and hosting major events like the mayor’s conference and a national women and leadership group.

Five fields, with FIFA Level 1 concussion pads, are already available for public use. Soft openings for the team are expected this month. 

“We’re really proud of what we have accomplished to this point. But we really feel like we’re just getting started,” said Chris Long.

 

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David L. Johnson, founder of Chicken N Pickle, speaks after being awarded the Marion and John Kreamer Award for Social Entrepreneurship from UMKC; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Thursday’s Entrepreneur of the Year event also shined the spotlight on Marcelo Claure, founder and CEO of Claure Group and Brightstar, who was honored as the Henry W. Bloch International Entrepreneur of the Year. Claure led Kansas City-based Sprint from 2014 to 2018, overseeing the company’s merger with T-Mobile. He continues to hold a seat on the board of T-Mobile.

David L. Johnson, founder of Chicken N Pickle and CEO of Maxus Realty Trust, received the Marion and John Kreamer Award for Social Entrepreneurship from UMKC. 

Lesly Romo, a junior in business administration and bilingual real estate agent professional, was celebrated as UMKC Student Entrepreneur of the Year.

RELATED: UMKC’s Student Entrepreneur of the Year sees business potential in KC’s diverse futbol ecosystem

What a great night at the 37th annual Entrepreneur of the Year Awards! The Henry W. Bloch School of Management honored five game-changing entrepreneurs inside @HRBlock headquarters.

Read more about the honorees: https://t.co/trWMsuy9bb pic.twitter.com/Z8aFToCrvx

— UMKC (@UMKC) December 1, 2023