Royals Stadium Urgency Rises As County Presses For Action

Time is running out for the Kansas City Royals to make a decision on where they intend to build their new $2 billion stadium — and local officials are pressing for action.

Last month, the MLB club backed away from its original late-September target to name the site of its proposed ballpark, with Missouri’s Jackson County insisting on a finalized lease extension first. That extension is seen as a critical prerequisite for extending a stadium sales tax levy that will help fund the new venue.

With a December deadline now approaching to get on an April 2024 ballot, the Jackson County legislature voted late Tuesday to give county executive Frank White a 48-hour deadline to get back to the Royals on the club’s latest term-sheet offer.

Key elements on the public-sector contribution toward the project remain the subject of negotiation, but local officials are also growing frustrated about their lack of involvement in the talks.

“I thought there’d be much more collaboration and opportunity to work together on these things,” said Jackson County legislator Manny Abarca. “Unfortunately, it becomes more clear now that we need to enact legislation that requires those processes to be in motion.”

Big Decision

The club is deciding between a 27-acre site in downtown Kansas City, technically in Jackson County, and a larger 90-acre tract in neighboring Clay County.

In either instance, the Royals would seek an Atlanta Braves-type mixed-use development — but part of the decision also rests on the location of the urban site versus the more expansive possibilities of the suburban one.