The Royals announced on Monday that they would be holding a press conference today to unveil their proposal for a future downtown stadium. The press conference will be held on February 13 at 2:30 pm CST. The proposal will reportedly include plans to build a stadium in the Crossroads District of Downtown. The location, pictured below, would include the location of the former Kansas City Star Printing Press.
The proposal will almost certainly be contingent to some degree on a future vote this April in Jackson County. Late last month the Jackson County Legislature overrode a veto from Executive Frank White to pass a measure extending the 3/8th sales tax onto a ballot this April. Alongside that vote this April, there are other important items to check off the agenda as well. In the proposed area for the new stadium, there are several businesses. The idea that the Royals could use eminent domain to take control of the land needed for a new stadium has already started to draw backlash. The Royals themselves could not condemn properties in the Crossroads neighborhood. Instead, they’d be relying on local authorities to make those decisions.
As more information drops from today’s press conference, this post will be updated.
2:30 CST: Renderings of the future site, including work over I-670, have been released.
2:45: The Royals released full renderings of a potential new stadium. It includes fountains.
The plan, if approved by voters, will include an opening date of April 2028 for the new stadium. Capacity for a new stadium would be set at 34,000.
The team will commit to at least $1 billion in private investment for the new stadium.
Royals President and CEO, John Sherman called the proposed tax — that Jackson County residents will vote on in April — the same deal that currently exists but “a better deal.” Part of that better deal, according to Royals President Brooks Sherman, will be stadium insurance relief. The Royals reportedly will take ownership of those costs.
Although The K could last another 40 years, the concrete will fail eventually. Populous founder, Earl Santee, went into detail below. Populous is the architect in charge of designing the potential future stadium.