Other than the Brewers, I think I've probably written about the A's and Rays the next most on this blog, just because they have both been talking about new ballparks pretty much since we started this blog in 2007. So long in fact that 7 new major league ballparks have opened in that span, and there is now at least one more serious contender that is throwing their hat in the ring as well: the Kansas City Royals. It's been no secret and I've written before that the Royals owner John Sherman has made a new ballpark one of his top priorities since he took over the team. Not necessarily because the Royals need one - fans, players, media, and myself included will all tell you that Kauffman is a gem - but because of a desire for surrounding development, a la The Banks in Cincinnati or Ballpark Village in St. Louis. Kauffman Stadium is sited well outside the CBD amidst a sea of parking, not unlike American Family Field here in Milwaukee, with little to no opportunity for revenue streams outside of gameday operations, and the drive from many teams nowadays is to maximize profits and development any way they can, not just in baseball but in all sports. More areas to shop and eat and drink means more fans and money for the team, and a larger tax base for the city on undeveloped land, so it's kind of a win-win for most people (save for gentrification and the poor, but I won't get into that here).
The team recently announced they had narrowed their new ballpark to two downtown sites, and with the NFL Chiefs also pursuing a move to the Kansas side of the city, it sure seems like the demise of the Truman Sports Complex is a matter of when, not if. One of the sites would be in a neighborhood called the East Village, which is near the famed downtown Power & Light District, and the other site would be a mile further east in the Jazz District, near the Negro Leagues Museum. Both have their pros and cons - the East Village site has existing infrastructure but is a much more confined area, and the Jazz District site is the current home to the KC Area Transportation Authority in a more diverse part of the city that could really use the development and help bridge the racial divide to downtown (i.e. - again, red flag for gentrification). The Kansas City Star actually has pretty cool interactive maps of the sites that were put together by the Urban Land Institute and UC-Berkeley respectively. If all goes perfectly and an eventual vote is approved by various entities to approve a share of public funding, the Royals could be playing ball downtown as soon as 2026. However, it is worth noting that the city already just funded Kauffman Stadium upgrades barely a decade ago. It's far from a given that citizens would have the appetite to extend a sales tax for a team that one could argue doesn't even need a new home, not to mention during a time in our country when it's pretty ballsy for a wealthy baseball owner to be walking into the capitol with his hand out. It's also worth noting that the Royals are contractually bound to Kauffman through at least 2031 as part of the terms of said renovation.
While the wheels are in motion in Kansas City, they have come to a grinding halt in Anaheim. If you would asked me a couple years ago, I would have said without hesitation that the Angels would be the leader in the clubhouse for next new ballpark. Nothing like a good old-fashioned bribery scandal and the California politics to send things back to square one. After the Angels had the framework of a deal starting through the chain of approvals that would have brought millions of dollars of development into newly acquired parcels surrounding a new stadium on the same lot, the California government stepped in with some concerns about the lack of affordable housing that is required by state law in any land transferred from municipal ownership. Oh, and just one other small detail - the mayor of Anaheim resigned over allegations that he offered owner Arte Moreno a sweetheart deal in exchange for campaign contributions. None of these allegations have been proven, and there is no indication that the Angels were in any way a part of this foul play, but the sale of the land was effectively cancelled and is now starting from scratch. I still think it is inevitable that the Angels get a new stadium as, unlike the Royals, they are in desperate need of one, but this process is going to drag on for many years before we see any real traction.
It's always exciting to think about what new major league park Erik and I will be seeing after Globe Life Field, and as of today it certainly looks like Kansas City has pulled neck-and-neck with Oakland. And speaking of new major league parks - we've settled on September 8-11 to make attempt #3 at seeing Globe Life Field! Flights are booked as of this morning and here's hoping the country will not be in complete shambles by then.
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.
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