Soon-to-open Wichita retailer just got naming rights to the Stryker Sports Complex

The Stryker Sports Complex is being renamed after a national sporting goods and entertainment chain that will open its first Wichita location this summer.

The City Council voted Tuesday to rename the facility the Scheels Stryker Sports Complex in exchange for $625,000 that will be used to erect protective netting around its 11 fields and to expand the press box.

There was no competitive bid for the five-year naming agreement, which was unanimously recommended by the park board earlier this month. Renewing the agreement for another five years would require another financial commitment from Scheels.

Eighteen new backstops will be installed to address the safety issue of soccer balls and footballs flying onto other fields and private property adjacent to the city-owned complex, Parks Director Troy Houtman said.

“I spend a lot of time out at Stryker, and I’m very excited to learn about the nets to try and keep the balls on the field because that is a huge issue and liability,” City Council member Maggie Ballard said.

Houtman said expanding the press box will allow for higher-quality game production and simulcasting options that will help Stryker lure more national soccer tournaments.

Under the terms of the naming agreement, new signage paid for by Scheels will be placed around the facility and employees will wear uniforms with the Scheels logo.

According to city staff, Scheels approached the city and offered to help with the facilities upgrades at the Stryker complex in exchange for naming rights.

“We’ve done a lot with naming facilities and stuff. Now we’re starting to do it with sponsorships,” City Council member Jeff Blubaugh said. “Is it time maybe that we put together an RFP process to give everybody, all businesses, the opportunity on these paid sponsorships?”

Houtman responded that a competitive bidding process could be an option moving forward as new city park facilities come online.

Staff justified the renaming process under a City Council policy that allows the body to “recognize distinguished citizens by naming public facilities/lands and property in their memory.”

“The person being distinguished must be one who has made a significant contribution to the city and such person must have been primarily responsible for the existence or wellbeing of the facility,” council policy 13 states.

“The selection of a name, if it is not a person’s name, must be based on the function of the facility and the image of [sic] the name would project.”

The written agreement approved by the council says “Scheels is expected to open their first store in Wichita in the summer of 2023; and Scheels is an employee-owned, privately held business which is committed to providing philanthropic support in local communities. Scheels associates volunteer thousands of hours to community service projects annually.”

Scheels’ Towne East Square location will open in July and feature entertainment attractions, specialty shops and boutiques, as well as interactive arcade games, sports simulators, a candy store and a cafe. The employee-owned chain has about 30 locations across the U.S., including one other Kansas store in Overland Park.