KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – The Kansas City Royals could call downtown Kansas City home in a few years, but several pieces of the city’s plan still need to fall into place.
Mayor Quinton Lucas highlighted his proposal Friday at the Downtown Council luncheon, a day after presenting it to the city council. The $1.9 billion investment includes building a new stadium and baseball district in the Washington Square Park area.
The city would commit up to $600 million through bonds. The state is also expected to contribute funding.
Vision draws from multiple cities
Royals owner John Sherman told KCTV5 about a week ago that he envisions a development similar to Atlanta’s Battery, a mixed-use district with restaurants, shops, nightlife and entertainment venues adjacent to Truist Park, home of the Braves.
“I’d like to locate our next generational home in a place where we can build energy and vibrancy around it in a higher density area,” Sherman said. “Just coming from Atlanta, you know, opening day was like, it was like college football game day before the game. I mean, it was really almost like a college football atmosphere and the stadium’s great. And so I really want to generate that type of excitement. The objective that we have is to find that next generational home that will make sure the Royals and Major League Baseball are here for the next 50 years.”
Lucas said his inspiration comes from Baltimore and other comparable cities.
“It is walkable and it’s kept the city that doesn’t always have people talking about it in a positive sense, pretty active and alive in its downtown corridor,” Lucas said. “So you can frankly go to almost any comparable city Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, others. Baltimore. Right. And see kind of what this model is. That’s why, you know, this isn’t something that’s just pie in the sky. It’s something that I think Kansas City will take to very well long term.”
Lucas said mayors from those cities have reached out, asking if Kansas City is finally getting on board with the model.
Blue Cross Blue Shield building demolition planned
To make room for the development, Lucas said the Blue Cross Blue Shield building would have to come down.
The Kansas City Royals could call downtown Kansas City home in a few years, but several pieces of the city’s plan still need to fall into place.(KCTV5/Zach Fisher)
“The office tower right now is anticipated to be on the site itself,” Lucas said. “Now, I think the way that the site lays out is that you do look at a demolition of the current Blue Cross Blue Shield building, most other activity being towards the outfield or towards ground the other way.”
The building sits behind where the outfield wall would be. An office tower would also go up as part of the development.
The idea is to bring year-round traffic to the area. Kathy Nelson with Visit KC said the prospect is exciting.
“It feels real. It feels the right thing to do at the right time,” Nelson said. “And you know, again, it’s at stake in the ground that when we have whether you’re a resident or a visitor to our city, and there’s this much more to do now and it’s walkable, you can stay down here if you’re at work, you can catch a 1:00 ballgame or a 7:00 ballgame. I mean, it’s just so the excitement is so much more palatable now when you think about this is happening.”
Leaders will need to show a clearer site plan and how they will pay for the pieces around the park.
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