About a week after the Rays released a budget and renderings of their latest ballpark iteration, the Royals announced their latest plans to exit Kauffman Stadium before the end of their lease in 2030. It's been a slow moving process ever since Jackson County's failed sales tax referendum in April 2024 ended hopes of a new park in the Crossroads District of Kansas City. In the two years since, it's been mainly speculation and hearsay, with the Royals even reportedly purchasing some land on the former Sprint campus that was fueled by state-approved STAR Bonds in an attempt to lure the team across state lines to the Kansas side. This power move worked in luring the NFL Chiefs, but the Royals had other plans and backed out. If you'll allow me a baseball pun, their latest plan at Crown Center sort of came out of left field. This project would be a joint partnership with Hallmark Cards - the KC-based company which is currently headquartered at the proposed site - who would be erecting a new building nearby and providing a good chunk of capital to the team as part of the deal (and I would hope naming rights and non-stop streaming Hallmark Christmas movies in the stadium as well). This will be an interesting site to say the least, as a lot of it is on the National Register and will require a significant amount of demolition and infrastructure revisions, including the existing WWI Memorial and Museum. The public contribution to this $3B project would be about one-third, as opposed to the 2024 Crossroads proposal that would have been over 50% public money. As far as I can tell, the city and state money is already allocated in principle and would be set for formal approval pending all of the plan and lease agreements. If all goes well, construction would begin on the ballpark and entertainment district next year with a targeted Opening Day 2030 opening.
The Royals situation is certainly unique compared to most of the other teams with ongoing stadium issues. For instance, they are not in the same boat as the Brewers and D-Backs, who were both in desperate need of deferred maintenance - the Royals completed an extensive $250M renovation in 2009 and have had several other smaller ones since. They're not in the same boat as the A's and Rays, whose stadium situations had become so untenable that they lived with the constant fear of becoming homeless in the last two decades - the 2009 renovation included a significant lease extension. And they're also not in the same boat as the Angels and White Sox, who have floated threats to sell the team or leave at various points unless they get a new park - the Royals ownership group has made it clear they're not going anywhere. A lot of people are comparing the Royals situation to what the Braves did, but I would even argue that those are not similar. The Royals have a consensus top-10 ballpark in the league and are moving downtown, and the Braves had a very ordinary park at the time (Turner Field) and moved 20 miles outside of the city. This is a one-of-a-kind situation, but we can say the one constant as with all new ballparks these days is looking to take advantage of the "Ballpark Village" concept. The Royals have existed in purgatory since 1973, not really in the city and not close to anything, and surrounded only by a sea of parking with no room to grow or create additional revenue streams - sound familiar Brewers fans? If the Crown Center stadium happens, it will be a fascinating story of revitalization and transformation for both the team and the city, and it will be a great case study for generations to come as to whether or not a sports stadium really does drive economic growth.
Erik - 1
Peter - 5
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment