KANSAS CITY, Kan. — In August, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County evicted the Kansas City T-Bones from a city-owned Village West Stadium.
"The Legends is like, that's the T-bones community, and I think it would be really sad to see them go, so I really hope that everything works out in the long run and the T-bones are here to stay," fan Megan Silleck said.
Currently, the team is in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball playoffs, and could soon face another challenge.
"We are nervous that they're only going to have one or two games left here in Kansas City and we wanted to watch one of their last few games," fan Stephanie Eickhoff said.
For more than 15 years, the team has played in the stadium currently known as JustBats Field. On Friday, Sept. 13, the T-Bones must remove all personnel and property from the ballpark by 5 p.m.
If the team continues on in the playoffs, the championship series would fall on the team's eviction date.
"I'm hoping the community has our support and that the community will fight for the field to stay open because I just think like, a lot of this is like a back and forth situation where it's like, a lot of people want the T-bones to stick around and everything and so I'm really hoping we get to play," Silleck said.
As fans hope the county would make an exception, it's not likely, as the team has defaulted on more than $760,000 in payments.
Earlier this year, the T-Bones President, Adam Ehlert said the family planned to sell the team to cover its debts. He expected the team to stay in Kansas City, Kansas, but under new ownership. Fans are hopeful that is the case.
"I love baseball, it gets very expensive to go to the Royals games and so this is a nice way to see a great team play for a fraction of the price," Eickhoff said.
The Unified Government said it has several options for the future of the stadium, including marketing the space to a new baseball team, or using it for other athletic and community events, as well as a concert venue.
