Decision Time For Royals Stadium Site As Ballot Deadlines Approach

Following months of relatively little progress on the Kansas City Royals’ efforts to develop a new stadium, the calendar is increasingly becoming a serious issue. 

After missing an intended late-September target to name the site of their proposed $2 billion new home, the Royals now face a Jan. 23 deadline to get on an April ballot for public stadium funding in either its current Jackson County or in neighboring Clay County. 

The Jackson County vote would allow for the continuation of a current sales tax appropriation and help fund a 27-acre project in Kansas City’s East Village, with a ballpark and mixed-use development. The Clay County vote would be for a new tax to help fund a larger, 90-acre project.

Regardless of location, the core ballpark development would cost about $2 billion, with the Royals looking for roughly $350 million in public funds. The April ballot timing is critical, as it will help the team to stay on its intended timetable of opening a new stadium in 2028.

The Royals’ current Kauffman Stadium, despite a $250 million renovation completed in 2009, is 50 years old and outdated by modern ballpark standards.

Weeks of negotiations, however, have done little to advance the situation and have also included the possibility of a third stadium site option in south Kansas City entering the mix and complaints about public disclosures.

While Jan. 23 is the hard deadline to get on the April ballots, stadium advocates are pressing for an earlier decision from the Royals in order to leave sufficient time to legislative overrides if there is a veto from either county executive.