With the Kansas City Chiefs poised to leave Arrowhead Stadium and the Truman Sports Complex for a new Kansas stadium, it’s now time for team owners and city officials to decide on a new Kansas City Royals ballpark.

After reviewing proposals to renovate and develop Arrowhead Stadium—working under the assumption that the Royals are leaving Kauffman Stadium—last week the Chiefs came to an agreement with Kansas officials on a new stadium and entertainment district, as well as a new team headquarters, training facility, and mixed-use development.

The broad agreement—with many details to be worked out—includes two distinct parts: (1) a $3-billion covered stadium in Wyandotte County to open at the start of the 2031 NFL season; and (2) a new Chiefs headquarters and training facility in Olathe in Johnson County. Both sites will have mixed-use developments that could include sports, entertainment, dining, shopping, office, hotel, and residential properties.

The project will be financed through a public (60 percent) and private (40 percent) partnership, with the public portion funded through state Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) bonds and the Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund, backed by proceeds from online gaming and lottery taxes. No general funds are currently planned to back the project.

The Chiefs have called Arrowhead Stadium since 1972; the team began life in the American Football League playing at Municipal Stadium. The current Arrowhead Stadium lease ends in 2030, with the new stadium set to open in 2031. Playing in a domed stadium allows the Chiefs to make plays for events year-round, including Final Four basketball tournaments and Big 12 football/basketball championships. The path to a move to Kansas was made possible when Jackson County voters in April 2024 rejected a proposal to extend a local sales tax to renovate Arrowhead Stadium and build a new Royals ballpark.

However, a new Kansas City Royals ballpark in Jackson County is still a possibility, as officials there continue to discuss potential Kansas City sites with team officials. The team has been looking at potential ballpark sites—Washington Square Park, near Union Depot; a North Kansas City location in Clay County; and an Overland Park, Kansas site in Johnson County—and polled fans as to their preferences regaining location. While Kansas City officials and local businesses are pushing the Washington Square Park site, it is challenging: the park and an adjoining parcel comprises some 11+ acres of land, which is enough for a ballpark but would not present the development opportunities owner John Sherman has identified as part of a ballpark complex. A team affiliate owns the Aspiria Campus in Overland Park, Kansas (the former Sprint headquarters), and part of that site could be used for a ballpark and mixed-use development.

With Kansas devoting billions to the richest public stadium-funding deal in U.S. history—some $2.4 billion in bonds—there’s a question as to whether what kind of public money would be available for a Royals development as well. Right now no one with the team or Kansas is talking, and with the public rejecting a Jackson County sales tax this year, Kansas City officials say they’re not eager to schedule a public referendum on a new Royals ballpark. The hope was that a new ballpark deal could be completed by the end of 2025; that seems unlikely now.

Conceptual rendering of new ballpark courtesy Kansas City Royals.

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About Kevin Reichard
Kevin Reichard is founder and publisher of Ballpark Digest.