ROYALS RELOCATE: Club announces move from Truman Sports Complex to the Crossroads

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – The wait is over. Royals fans finally know where their team will play its home baseball games for decades to come.

The Kansas City Royals announced that the team will build a new stadium and ballpark district in the Crossroads District in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

The future stadium would incorporate the land of the former Kansas City Star building at 16th and McGee Street. In total, it will encom 18 acres of land and will include the Royals negotiating with 20 property owners.

The new ballpark will seat about 34,000 fans, or roughly 3,000 fewer than Kauffman Stadium, and the Royals are hopeful it would be ready for the 2028 season. The final design is still under development, but renderings shown Tuesday paid homage to the K’s swooping roof lines and iconic centerfield fountains.

Royals President of Business Operations Brooks Sherman said there is a willingness to spend more than $1 billion in private investment for the project. He also said the Royals are currently negotiating with those area property owners.

“We’re not asking for a new tax, rather a continuation of the 3/8 cent sales tax that exists today,” Brooks Sherman said. ”We’ve agreed to eliminate the county’s obligation to pay stadium insurance s and parks levy to the teams, creating more than $200 billion of new economic benefit.”

Power & Light District president john Moncke released the following statement:

“It’s an amazing time to call KC home. Yesterday’s announcement by the Royals and community leaders is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our hometown,” Moncke said. “KC has been transformed by big ideas, and today’s announcement builds on the momentum of the past two decades by combining two iconic visions – a downtown ballpark and a downtown community park.”

The sales tax extension between 2031 and 2070 will go before Jackson County voters on April 2. If it is approved the Royals hope to have the stadium complete before opening day in April of 2028. If the vote fails to , a similar stadium sales tax cannot be brought before voters for one full year.

Populous architect Earl Santee said renovating Kauffman at the Truman Sports Complex is not feasible and is not realistic, because of how the concrete cracking will ultimately fail.

“All it means is that in 40 years it could fail, but at some point it will fail,” Santee said. “And there is more parking in downtown, there’s 40,000 spaces in downtown versus the 26,000 we have at Truman Sports Complex.”

Royals Majority Owner John Sherman called this moment the golden era in Kansas City.

“We know we have to earn and win every single vote. I am not a politician, but I’m going to be in the community. Talking about our project. I want to hear from you, and I believe it’s important that you hear from me during this campaign and that you know how committed I am to making sure the Chiefs and the Royals remain at home, here in Jackson County,” Sherman said.

How Did We Get Here?

In 2006, the neither team has committed to future plans for their home stadiums.

Royals owner John Sherman had previously indicated that he envisions the Royals playing in a new stadium by the 2027 or 2028 season.

When he announced the intention to move from Kauffman Stadium more than a year ago, Sherman said construction of the ballpark and district was expected to cost around $2 billion.

The Royals ownership group has pledged to invest more than $1 billion in private funding for the stadium and district project.

In an early-January t announcement with the Chiefs, the Royals declared they would remain in Jackson County and build a downtown stadium if taxpayers ed an extension to the 3/8-cent sales tax to fund stadium development and improvement.

The statement from the club added to speculation the team would explore the Crossroads District as a potential location for a stadium and ballpark district. Area business owners told KCTV5 they were worried established restaurants and bars would likely be demolished.

Not even three weeks later, Jackson County legislators overrode county executive Frank White’s veto on the stadium sales tax appearing on the April 2024 ballot. White, a Royals Hall of Famer, has maintained his stance that a number of issues remain unresolved, including where the team plans to build its new stadium.

The stadium is far from a done deal, as the Royals stated they intend to go through with the project should taxpayers approve the measure in the April 2 election.

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