Kansas City, Mo., Offers $1B to Renovate or Build New Royals Stadium

The Kansas City Royals have an official offer from Kansas City, M.O., to build a new stadium or substantially renovate Kauffman Stadium. Mayor Quinton Lucas announced this week that the city could offer the Royals $1 billion.

Lucas told KSHB, “We do have, I think, a very robust offer that combines state and local incentives. It’s my view that gets you to a $1.2 to $1.4 billion range with no tax increase. It doesn’t calculate or include the current Jackson County sales tax. It allows the Royals to either go downtown or stay at Kauffman Stadium.”

Related: Kansas STAR Bonds May Attract the Kansas City Royals' New Stadium

Currently, the county collects a 3/8^th-cent tax on retail sales that funds the Royals’ Kauffman Stadium. That arrangement is set to expire in 2031.

The city did not give the team a deadline to respond to the offer; however, Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman said he hoped to make an announcement regarding stadium plans mid-way through the year. 

As far as fans and local business owners are concerned, many told KSHB they are hoping for a new, downtown stadium. 

“I think it’s important we continue to make the case for a downtown stadium and show how much of an asset it can be from the business side, but also from community, economic development side,” said Nicholas Grunauer, a restaurant owner in Kansas City.

Architects at BNIM, in partnership with Cushman Wakefield and Withers Brant and Highline Partners released a rendering of what a potential downtown stadium and mixed-used development could look like in Kansas City. It shows a stadium built at Washington Square Park along with several additional commercial buildings.

Grunauer said, “While it might not be the easiest, maybe it’s the more complicated decision, it’s really going to pay off long-term if we can make this site happen.”