Royals to announce downtown ballpark site, reported to be Crossroads location

The Royals have called a press conference for tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. to announce the selection of a downtown baseball stadium. According to Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star, they will announce a site in the Crossroads near the former Star printing press.

The site has the benefit of being close to an existing entertainment district with the Power and Light District and T-Mobile Center just north of the site, although I-670 currently serves as an impediment. The city is expected to begin construction this year on a cover over I-670.

There are currently a number of businesses in that vicinity, including the Church of the Resurrection, who recently announced plans for expansion. That has raised questions of how the Royals will assemble the land. Some experts believe the Royals could use eminent domain for a project, but that could generate negative backlash. The printing press was built in 2006 but was last used by the Star in 2020 and is currently owned by the Privitera family, who has been eager to develop the site for a ballpark.

The Royals had originally planned to announce a ballpark site last September, but pushed back the decision indefinitely. The original favorite was a site in the East Village among several government buildings that had little development, and North Kansas City pitched a site just across the river.

Last month, the Jackson County Legislature approved a measure to put forth a ballot initiative before voters in April that will ask them to extend the current 3/8 sales tax that funds renovations to the Truman Sports Complex for another 40 years. The money would be used to renovate Arrowhead Stadium and be used to help fund a new downtown ballpark for the Royals. The Royals have agreed to a non-binding agreement with the county to cover insurance costs for the stadium and cost overruns. The total cost of the ballpark would be $1 billion, with the sales tax generating about $350 million, and the teams are counting on some funding from the state of Missouri. The Royals would privately finance the additional $1 billion cost of the entertainment district.

The Royals are expected to share more details about the project tomorrow afternoon, including “renderings, economic data, and progress toward a lease and community benefits agreement.” They had previously indicated they hoped a new stadium would be ready by 2028.