Stadium project leaders shared new details about the Royals ballpark project on Thursday, emphasizing the team’s goal of community connection and Kansas City authenticity.
Team members with Populous, the lead architect of the project, provided brand-new renderings with specific stadium features, including 34,000 seats; a larger, three-dimensional scoreboard; four seating decks that bring fans closer to the action and the ballpark’s city views.
Fan-favorite features, like the crown scoreboard and, of course, Kauffman Stadium’s iconic fountains, will also be present and reimagined in the new stadium.
Designers repeatedly called the stadium a “neighborhood ballpark,” making it clear that the stadium’s relationship with community landmarks like Crown Center, Union Station and the Crossroads was a focal point of the project.
They also assured fans that this design is one of a kind, exclusively for Kansas City, and said the ballpark will be seamlessly integrated and feel “like it belongs here.”
Along with a strong connection to Kansas City and its residents and institutions, Populous wants the stadium to be “warm” and “welcoming,” inviting fans in without being imposing.
“We’re trying to create the most intimate park in baseball,” Populous Senior Principal and Founder Earl Santee said.
Another notable detail about the project? Its timeline. The Royals are aiming for a 2030 opening day — though they say they aren’t rushing anything.
“When we make a decision to do something, we like to get after it,” Royals President of Real Estate and Development Brooks Sherman said. “We will do this the right way. We’re not rushing to get this done. It’s just, that’s the timeline that can be achieved and we want to push to that. If this had to push a year, it would push a year because it was necessary to push to make sure that we get the right ballpark built.”
Specific features34,000 seats3,000 standing room spotsShaded canopy that covers 65% of seatsTwo continuous concoursesFour seating decksNew renderings
All renderings created by design leader Populous
