The Kansas City Royals are still on the search for a new ballpark.
Currently playing at Kauffman Stadium in Missouri, the MLB team has long insisted they will not renew their lease when it expires in 2031.
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The Royals are hoping to leave Kauffman Stadium and have narrowed down new sitesCredit: Getty
Instead, the Royals favor a move away from Truman Sports Complex for good.
Their NFL counterparts, the Kansas City Chiefs, play at Arrowhead Stadium on the same site and are also said to be exploring a potential move across state lines.
While both potential relocation efforts remain up in the air, the Royals this week made some progress towards their ultimate stadium goal.
What is the latest update on the Royals’ search for a new ballpark?
The organization restructured their leadership team this week, and announced new arrival Cullen Maxey as their president of business operations.
Brooks Sherman, who has been in Kansas City for six years, has been shifted into a new role as president of real estate and development.
He will oversee the Royals’ search for a new ballpark alongside Maxey, who will oversee all business operations as a whole.
General manager J.J. Picollo, meanwhile, will continue to lead baseball operations for a team that finished the 2025 MLB season with an 82-80 record.
New arrival Maxey spent the last two decades with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he took on roles as executive vice president of business operations and chief revenue officer.
He will largely do the same in Kansas City, while also working closely with Sherman on the stadium project.
Maxey insisted that working on the plans was the ‘icing’ on his decision to depart Arizona for Kansas City.
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Maxey has arrived in Kansas City to help lead the team’s relocation effortsCredit: YouTube: KCTV5 NewsWhich new ballpark sites are the Royals looking at?
As well as restructuring their leadership team this week, the Royals are said to have narrowed down potential locations for a new home.
Those include downtown Kansas City, North Kansas City and Overland Park, Kansas.
Two of those options would see the team remain in Missouri, while the later would see them move across state lines.
The estimated cost for any proposed ballpark and the development around it is projected to be $2 billion.
Despite narrowing down the options, Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman said this week that any move will be ‘complex’.
“There’s no news to report about our stadium process,” he said.
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The Royals have played at Kauffman Stadium since it opened in 1973Credit: Getty
“These are complex, multi-jurisdictional, public-private partnerships. They always take longer than any of us hope.
“They really should take a long time. This is a generational decision. But we’ve got to get it right.
“We’ve got to get it right for our club, for our fans, for the community.”
Why do the Royals favor a move from Kauffman Stadium?
The organization believes their current ballpark, which has a capacity of under 38,000 and is located eight miles from downtown Kansas City, limits the team’s potential to drive revenue and compete.
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Truman Sports Complex is no longer seen as the best site for Royals baseballCredit: Getty
Baseball has been played at ‘The K’ since 1973, and more than $250 million was spent on renovating the site 15 years ago.
But any attempt to enhance the area around the Truman Sports Complex, and make it a viable destination for anything other than game day, has failed.
Instead, the Royals, valued at $1.3 billion as of March 2025, according to Forbes, believe their future lies away from Kauffman Stadium.
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