KANSAS CITY, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
—
The American Royal is weeks away from opening its long-awaited new facility in Kansas City, Kansas, with the first phase set to debut on Sept. 10.
After the Sept. 10 invite-only debut, they're hosting a series of events back-to-back, including:
- Sept. 12-13: Royal Showcase Horse Show
- Sept. 18-21: Cutting Horse Show
- Sept. 30-Oct. 4: World Series of Barbecue
- Oct. 9-25: American Royal Fall Livestock Show
Their team says over 200 organizations are currently looking to book the space.
The 390,000-square-foot barns and exhibition hall space mark the first time the organization will own its own campus.
The city of Kansas City, Missouri, owns the West Bottoms location.
"We have been working on this project for a long time, and it has not been without its trials and tribulations, but in the end, we have always known we would get to this point," American Royal Association President Jackie McClaskey said.
The American Royal first broke ground on its new facility in 2023 but paused construction after running out of money.
"What we thought in the last round would take us about a year or so to finish took us three," McClaskey said. "We've worked with multiple governors, with multiple mayors, with multiple county administrators and lots of commissioners.”
The $375 million project is funded through a combination of STAR bonds and private fundraising.
$155 million in STAR bonds covers the entire campus, and the American Royal is raising private funds to match that level to complete the arenas and learning engagement center.
STAR bonds are a financing tool that means sales tax revenue generated in a district pays off a large-scale entertainment or tourism project.
"The big challenge for us was getting the STAR bonds done," McClaskey said.
The Unified Government passed a development agreement that includes the American Royal in December, making it possible for them to sell bonds again.
The agreement was finalized in January.
The team resumed construction in late March.
"That piece doesn't have to be done again,” McClaskey said. “We already have the approvals. We have everything that we need. It'll be just going through the process of actually selling those bonds, which we will do once we have the final timeline in place.”
Current and future STAR bond projects surround the new site, including the new Chiefs stadium.
McClaskey believes the neighboring projects will benefit each other financially.
"That's what bringing the Chiefs to the region,” McClaskey said. “This is a great area to build additional STAR bond districts, so being a neighbor to another STAR bond district is exciting because we believe we're actually going to help each other be able to not only get the bonds sold, but be able to pay off those bonds in a really timely manner.”
She was optimistic about the time it’ll take to pay off the STAR bonds.
"I don't think it's going to take us 20 years to pay off our STAR bonds because of all the activity that's happening in KCK," McClaskey said. "When STAR bonds are done well and done right, they always create more activity, and they pay themselves off as we have seen in the Legends region, and that's why the rest of us are here because it continues to grow and expand.”
The American Royal is also pursuing a property tax exemption through the state's Board of Tax Appeals.
The organization won't file until it opens on September 10, as the property is not eligible for the exemption while under construction.
"We are going to create economic impact from day one, and that economic impact will continue to grow once the STAR bonds are paid off," McClaskey said. "You're going to see a lot of events in this facility that do things other than agriculture.”
She says the flexible design allows the American Royal to host simultaneous events like livestock competitions, equestrian events, trade shows, sporting events, conventions and other large-scale gatherings.
There are five barn gables creating one connected exhibition hall.
The space also features 3,774 cattle ties, 1,528 horse stalls, up to eight temporary arenas and 29 volleyball courts in an alternate configuration.
"What we're still going to do is create growing economic activity,” McClaskey said. “Not just in our own STAR bond district, but in the region.”
Tony Rohr, national managing principal at MultiStudio, helped design the space.
He and his team visited 27 different facilities across the country — including locations in Nebraska, Texas and Nevada — to research and gather information before designing the American Royal's new home.
"It was really easy to do and really fun because we were all learning together, because they really were trying to create something unique and special for the American Royal, so that started with learning a lot about the American Royal," Rohr said. “The American Royal board and the people that were leading this effort very much wanted us to take an experiential approach and really think differently about this. Learn from others, and let's create something that makes sense for here.”
Design elements like textured floors and few windows were intentional.
"It was fun to learn about what does it mean to have a textured floor. What does it mean to have a wash rack?" Rohr said. "There's a reason why there's not a bunch of windows. Cause it puts beam light on the floor. The beam light on the floor scares the animals.”
He said the most interesting part was learning about the families and event participants who would benefit.
"You're designing for those people that are coming here and doing that work," Rohr said.
The practical layout of the space was also a priority.
"This is going to be really easy to load in and load out," Rohr said. "There's a convenience factor that's going to be above anything we ever saw.”
The five-barn silhouette was designed to be instantly recognizable.
"The profile, the five barns, is kind of a beautiful silhouette that is, 'That's the American Royal,'" Rohr said.
The facility is built with the full family experience in mind.
"It's a family affair,” Rohr said. "The American Royal has great tradition in terms of the exhibitors and people from across the country who want to come here. They love the American Royal in terms of the experience they have. They're going to love this kind of experience.”
Future plans include two indoor arenas of approximately 125,000 and 90,000 square feet, a 75,000-square-foot covered outdoor arena and a two-story Learning & Engagement Center for exploring food, agriculture and American Royal history.
Plans for the 80,000-square-foot center include a 750-seat auditorium, interactive food and agriculture exhibits, multiple classroom and learning spaces, cooking and food demonstration space, and experiences exploring the American Royal’s history.
Additional construction is expected to be completed in late 2028.
In the meantime, the American Royal will operate from the KCK facility and in the West Bottoms.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
—
![020626_KSHB_Image_NXA_Web_Standard Cube[88].jpg](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0ead409/2147483647/strip/true/crop/300x225+0+13/resize/960x720!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F8f%2F6c%2Ffad8bd2346c5a4d4ead793017d4a%2F020626-kshb-image-nxa-web-standard-cube88.jpg)