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With the Chiefs and Royals in the midst of developing new stadiums, Jackson County, Missouri, officials are devising a plan for what happens to Kansas City’s Truman Sports Complex after the teams leave.
County leaders have unveiled plans for a new “Truman Sports & Innovation District” in which the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium would be retained and renovated, and still used for events such as concerts, college football, soccer, and rugby. The vision also calls for the demolition of the Royals’ Kauffman Stadium, which would be replaced with a hotel, convention center, and an entertainment district on the site with dining, shopping, and live music.
The remade, county-owned complex could also include housing, a transit hub, and outdoor amenities such as ponds and hiking trails. A secondary plan additionally includes the creation of an F1 racetrack.
Notably, this mixed-use development plan resembles what many teams–including the Chiefs and Royals—have done or plan to do with new sports facilities. The county effort, however, seeks to do so within the 55-year-old complex that the two local pro teams are leaving behind.
“Arrowhead has history, identity, and value,” said Jackson County executive Phil LeVota. “We shouldn’t wait until facilities are empty and hundreds of acres are sitting underused to start asking what comes next. The time to start that conversation is now.”
To that end, the Missouri effort seeks to diverge from several other NFL markets, such as Washington and Houston, where old stadiums sat for years and fell into blight, and it often took years before redevelopment plans began to emerge.
There are still many unanswered questions about the new Truman Sports Complex plan. The vision is far from final, and any sort of funding will require what the county called “significant private investment.”
“Jackson County should establish the vision, but taxpayers should not be expected to carry the redevelopment alone,” the county’s report reads in part. “The county should leverage its land, infrastructure, and existing assets.”
Looking Ahead
The Chiefs and Royals, meanwhile, are continuing to proceed with the respective plans for their new facilities. The Chiefs struck a deal late last year with Kansas officials for a $3 billion domed stadium and a separate headquarters and training complex worth more than $1 billion.
Since then, the NFL team has selected Manica Architecture to design the stadium in Wyandotte County, Kansas, and have unveiled an Arrowhead Stadium-inspired look for the new facility. Populous will handle the design for the headquarters and training facility in Olathe, Kansas.
The new Chiefs stadium is projected to open in 2031. In the meantime, star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is back from torn knee ligaments, playing like his old self, and the team is a perfect 4–0 so far this season.
Separately, MLB’s Royals are in the midst of finalizing plans to build a $3 billion ballpark and entertainment complex in downtown Kansas City, with locally based greeting cards giant Hallmark coming in as a development partner. The club is currently seeking approvals for stadium zoning and public financing, which is set to include $600 million in city funding.
The Royals are also targeting a 2031 opening, when the current leases for both Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium will have expired.
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