KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics in Kansas, Missouri and at the local level. Share your story idea with Charlie.
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Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota announced Thursday a new task force that will study options for the future of the Truman Sports Complex.
Although currently the home for the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals, the Truman Sports Complex’s future is uncertain as the Chiefs plan to open a new domed stadium in 2031 in Wyandotte County and the Royals explore a new ballpark elsewhere in the Kansas City area.
“This is about taking a thoughtful, forward-looking approach to one of our county’s most important assets and making sure we get it right,” LeVota said Thursday morning.
Jackson County residents react to call for Sports Complex Redevelopment Task Force
The Sports Complex Redevelopment Authority would be comprised of 10-15 people and would include business leaders, developers and community stakeholders. LeVota said elected officials would not be a part of the task force.
Members of the task force would start their work on April 15 and then have 90 days to deliver a report on various options for the 400 acres of land on the southeast corner of the Interstate 435 and Interstate 70 interchange.
“This is one of the most important conversations we’re going to have in decades,” LeVota said at Thursday’s news conference. “It’s a generational issue and a generational asset.”
Jackson County executive creates task force to study future of Truman Sports Complex in Kansas City, Missouri
Following the work of the task force, LeVota said he would engage a third-party consultant — likely the Urban Land Institute — to review the task force’s plans and present next steps. LeVota hopes to have that complete by the end of August or by early September 2026.
LeVota also envisions a Master Redevelopment team to oversee the implementation of the plan, with members of the team committed to serving for five years.
The renderings below were shared at the press conference to provide an idea of what the Truman Sports Complex could look like in the future.
Jackson County
Project Raceway
Jackson County
Project Raceway
Jackson County
Project Raceway
Jackson County
Project Raceway
The co-owner Score Sports Bar and Grill near U.S. 40 Highway and Stadium Drive said Chiefs fans pack the restaurant before games.
KSHB 41 News reporter Charlie Keegan showed the conceptual renderings to customers Thursday afternoon. He received mixed reactions.
“The horse racing, I think would be ideal for something like that. I’d go,” said Rodney Paddock.
Jake Weller/KSHB
Rodney Paddock looks at potential concepts to redevelop the Truman Sports Complex.
Joe Pendergist liked the high-rise apartments that replaced the stadiums in a different conceptual drawing.
“I love the concept of all that. If Kansas City wants to be productive, in my opinion, it needs to be the Las Vegas of the Midwest,” Pendergist said.
The renderings looked more like Disneyland than Kansas City to Brent Kern.
The president of the Eastwood Hills Community Association told KSHB 41 News she wants neighborhoods like hers around the complex to be a part of the task force’s process.
“We want to have a voice for our concerns and to talk about opportunities with the stadium complex,” Gale Burrus said.
LeVota promised the community will be able to weigh in with recommendations.
In January, the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council earmarked $450,000 to help study future options for the Truman Sports Complex.
Mayor Quinton Lucas told Keegan at the time that the $450,000 contract allows for economic advisory services, urban planning, legal and professional engineering services related to “downtown entertainment and recreation projects and efforts in collaboration with Jackson County at the Truman Sports Complex.”
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