Historic MLB franchise makes ‘vital’ progress in relocation to $1.9bn downtown ballpark

The Kansas City Royals have moved a step closer to securing their new downtown ballpark.

For years, speculation has been building over where the MLB team could play once they move out of Kauffman Stadium.

Getty

Both the Royals and the Kansas City Chiefs, who currently play next door at Arrowhead Stadium, will depart Truman Sports Complex in the next few years.

The Chiefs are crossing state lines into Kansas to build a state-of-the art, domed facility, while the Royals will remain in Missouri.

Their hope is to build a $1.9billion ballpark, and a proposed move to Washington Square Park is on.

Kansas City Royals get big boost in stadium search

Plenty of twists and turns have threatened to derail a ballpark deal in recent years, with numerous sites touted, and a potential relocation explored.

The Royals, though, have now set on a location just east of Union Station, and north of Crown Center.

On Tuesday, the city council’s Finance, Governance, and Public Safety Committee unanimously approved a measure to continue stadium funding negotiations with the baseball team.

The panel referred the measure to the full city council, and a vote there could happen as soon as Thursday, according to Front Office Sports.

It’s believed the proposal would contribute up to $600m in city funding to the $1.9bn cost of the downtown ballpark, primarily through taxes on new economic activity around the site.

Mayor Quinton Lucas and nine of the 12 city council members have endorsed the plan as co-sponsors.

“This is something that if we do right and we do it well, it will change our city for a generation,” Council member Wes Rogers said.

Getty

Getty

“Now that said, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Council member Eric Bunch revealed that institutions like that of Union Station, the Chamber of Commerce and the Crossroads Community Association (CCA) also supported the new plan.

The CCA’s support is particularly notable after they opposed the proposal to build a new ballpark on the former Kansas City Star printing press site back in 2024.

“This is a process that didn’t go very well a while back, and a big part of that was the location,” Bunch said on Thursday, via KCUR.

“I think that it is a win-win to see reactivation of a park, and honestly, a surface parking lot that’s subterranean, that is providing minimal value to the 4th District.

“We have a location that I think is a good one, that a lot of people have gotten behind. We did not see that support two years ago.”

Getty

Getty

However, some local citizens have pushed back on the current proposal.

“That’s an important part of what the end transaction is,” Lucas said. “Frankly, I think that gives us even more potential community benefit long-term. … This isn’t money that’s coming from a general-fund source somewhere else.”

Step in the right direction

Ever since John Sherman took over the ownership of the Royals from David Glass for a $1 billion fee back in 2019, he has been actively seeking a new ballpark.

Amid the announcement of the Chiefs’ impending departure from Missouri back in December, local leaders stepped up their timeline for a new financing proposal for a new ballpark.

This was done to ensure that the Royals didn’t follow their current neighbors out of state, and remain one of major sports teams to reside in Missouri, alongside that of NWSL side Kansas City Current, who play their games at CPKC Stadium.

“We got elected to keep things moving, and this was a vital step,” Lucas said after the committee vote Tuesday.

“What you see today is a firm step that the Royals will continue to be in Kansas City, Missouri, for the long term.”

Stay up to date with the latest from the MLB across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.