KSHB 41 reporter Marlon Martinez covers Platte and Clay counties in Missouri. Share your story idea with Marlon.
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The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum has announced detailed plans for a $35 million expansion that will reconnect the museum to its historic roots while creating more space for exhibits and visitors in Kansas City, Missouri's 18th and Vine District.
The expansion will link the museum to the Paseo YMCA, the very location where the Negro Leagues were founded more than a century ago.
Museum leaders say the project aims to create additional space for exhibits and provide more room to tell the stories of the players who shaped baseball history.
"When you're talking about the development here, it's not just digging a hole and doing a deal. It is bringing back the most authentic cultural identity of Kansas City. Everything that we do and everything that Kansas City is known for actually starts in this district," said NLBM President Bob Kendrick.
Kendrick emphasized the museum's role in revitalizing the area, drawing parallels to the economic impact of Negro League Baseball itself.
"All of us at the Negro League Baseball Museum are inherently proud of the fact that this museum is essentially doing what Negro League Baseball had done for so many urban communities across this country. You see, wherever you have successful black baseball, you have thriving black economies. And here comes this museum that is essentially doing the exact same thing for this area, and we couldn't be more proud of the work," Kendrick said.
The museum first announced expansion plans in 2023 and unveiled the detailed renderings this week.
The American Jazz Museum, located next to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, will receive a $3.2 million redevelopment after the Kansas City, Missouri City Council approved the funding last Thursday.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is offering free admission throughout February in honor of Black History Month, with sponsorship from the Royals Foundation.
The museum is open Sunday from 12-5 p.m., Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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