KANSAS CITY, Mo. —
As Kansas City leaders continue to move forward with their plan to help pay for a new Royals ballpark at Crown Center, documents outlining the expected economic impact of the stadium have been released to the public for the first time.
The report is titled “Revenue & Impact Study of New Kansas City Royals Stadium.” The work was done by Hunden Partners, a development advisory firm.
The 28-page report predicts a new stadium at Crown Center would bring in an average of nearly 26,000 fans each game.
On top of at least 81 home games a year, the study also predicts two concerts and 50 private events at the new stadium each year. The study also predicts the stadium would host an MLB All-Star Game, something Royals Owner John Sherman said he’s talked to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred about.
The stadium is expected to cost roughly $2 billion. City documents show just more than 55% of that will come from public dollars from the city and state.
Kansas City has committed $600 million to the project to be paid through city bonds and repaid by tax revenues generated by the stadium.
The report also provides new details on the size of the proposed stadium impact area, which would play a key role in generating tax revenue for the project.
The report shows a TIF district roughly 4 square miles stretching out in all directions from the stadium site at Crown Center.
The district expands to Stateline Road to the west, east to 71 highway and Prospect Ave, north to I-670 and south to roughly 31st Street. That includes the Crossroads, Union Hill and a portion of the West Bottoms neighborhoods.
KMBC9 reached out to Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas about the size of the district.
“The stadium impact district is drawn exactly as originally proposed, outlining the area that will experience the most direct impact from the ballpark. Unlike other stadium proposals in our region, which span two counties and multiple cities, the Royals impact area is contained only within areas south of the central business district and will leave untouched most territory within the city,” Lucas said in a statement.
The report said more than 1,700 businesses are within the district and more than 70% of that 1,700 are less than a 20-minute walk of the stadium site.
The report also predicts a 30-year average increase of 3.4% in sales inside the district because of the people the new stadium will attract.
In a Monday morning press conference, Royals Chairman and CEO John Sherman said they expect to bring 2 million new visitors to the area each year for the stadium.
“And that’s really part of the point of this expanded TIF district,” Sherman said. “Let’s capture all those areas that the stadium and the development are having an impact on.”
Michael Austin, the founder of Knowledge & Decisions Economic Consulting and former Chief Economist at the Kansas Department of Revenue, said this study’s prediction answers some questions, while leaving out others.
“If your question about the Royals Stadium was how much attendance, how much spending, how much tax collection, what’s the overall activity happening at the stadium,” Austin said. “I think this report will answer that question for you. However, if your question is, are taxpayers getting a good deal out of the whole endeavor? That is not what this report is for. This report tells us what money might be available.”
Austin added that readers of the report have to consider what money collected in the TIF district is truly new money, versus what money is just being redirected from elsewhere.
“In other words, a busier stadium neighborhood doesn’t necessarily mean a richer Kansas City,” Austin said. “So this report, as an example, projects roughly a 3.4% increase in surrounding area sales. That is great, but it doesn’t tell you how much of that genuinely is new spending rather than dollars that would have gone to, let’s say, other local businesses.”
Sherman also said Monday he plans to invest an additional $1 billion in private money toward an entertainment district around the stadium. He said Royals leadership is working on the master plan for that district right now. He’s confident the district will be a success in Kansas City.
“To have baseball there 81 nights a year and the other opportunities created if you can do a mixed-use development creates so much vibrancy and energy around the ballpark,” Sherman said. “Particularly, where we’re going with public transportation, then, you know, it’s a combination of a downtown ballpark with downtown to the north and really a neighborhood ballpark. “
You can read the entire impact report on the city’s website.
On Tuesday, the Kansas City Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee will meet. The group, chaired by Mayor Lucas, will consider approving proposals related to the Royals stadium.
Sherman said the team is planning to have the new stadium ready for opening day in 2030.