KCMO City Council approves rezoning, financing details for new Royals stadium downtown

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers local government and politics in Kansas City and has covered the stadium saga since 2023. Share your story idea with Charlie.

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The Kansas City Royals’ plans to build a new downtown stadium took a big step forward Thursday. The Kansas City, Missouri, City Council approved three ordinances related to the public-private project, signifying the final outstanding issues at the city council level.

One rezones the area around Crown Center for a stadium. The second approves two tax increment financing (TIF) districts, which is how the city plans to pay for its $600 million commitment. The third allows the city to issue bonds to secure that $600 million. Those passed 13–0, 11–2 and 11–2, respectively.

The second, the TIF ordinance, passed with an amendment that gives the council more power over whether to expand the stadium impact area (Super TIF) in the future.

Mayor Quinton Lucas said the passage of all three now clears the way "for a transformational baseball-centered district that delivers for taxpayers, workers, and neighborhoods."

Lucas added that the agreements include "protections for the public and commitments to the communities around it."

City Manager Mario Vasquez commented after the votes that Kansas City is a "Major League City."

"Approval of the TIF plan, stadium impact area policy, and issuance of bonds establishes the City’s financial participation in the project and provides the local approvals necessary for the project to move forward," Vasquez said.

The Royals announced in April they were partnering with Hallmark to demolish the greeting card company’s headquarters and build a new stadium in its place near 25th Street and Gillham Road.

In August, the city agreed to a public-private partnership with the Royals for a $1.9 billion stadium complex.

The stadium itself will cost $1.2 billion, a new team headquarters on site will cost $200 million and surrounding infrastructure improvements will cost $500 million.

Kansas City committed $600 million to the project. The Royals are asking Missouri to contribute roughly $540 million in tax breaks, redirected tax revenue and other metrics. The team will pay the remaining $760 million.

Additionally, the team has promised to invest $1 billion in private money to improve Crown Center and build a mixed-use development surrounding the stadium.

Kansas City will pay back its $600 million by redirecting some incremental tax revenues from a “stadium impact area” back toward the bonds over 30 years.

The stadium impact area is defined roughly by State Line Road on the west, Campbell Street on the east, Interstate 670 on the north and 31st Street on the south.

Originally, the area was to extend all the way to Brooklyn Avenue on the east, but 3rd District Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley requested the city leave the historically under-invested 3rd District out of the impact area.

There will also be a smaller TIF district redirecting new tax revenue from the stadium itself.

An analysis Kansas City commissioned from consultant Hunden Partners said the two districts would generate $1.4 billion in redirected tax revenue over 30 years.

That figure is enough to pay off the $600 million bond and roughly $790 million in fees, interest and other costs related to debt service on the original principal investment. In essence, it means the investment will cost Kansas City $1.39 billion at the end of 30 years.

The Royals will cover costs to maintain and operate the stadium throughout its life. Kansas City will receive 5% of the revenue from concerts and other non-baseball events at the stadium.

The Hunden Partners presentation estimated attendance at Royals games would increase following the opening of a new stadium. Lucas said that means more than 2 million people will visit a Royals game and — by consequence — downtown every season, which he predicts will spur economic growth.

The Royals hope to open their stadium in time for the 2030 baseball season.

Remaining challenges

The state has not yet committed to funding its portion of the project. A lawsuit in front of the Missouri Supreme Court challenges whether the state’s funding plan, the Show-Me Sports Investment Act, passed in 2025 is legal.

People in Kansas City will vote in April 2027 on whether they want to create a new ordinance requiring citywide voter approval on any city actions that benefit entertainment venues of 2,500 seats or more.

Supporters of the measure say it would require a citywide vote before a variety of items, like the city issuing a building permit, appropriating money in the annual budget for bond payments or repaving roads around the stadium.

Opponents argue the ballot measure would hamstring future city councils and would apply to venues like Starlight Theater, Kauffman Center for Performing Arts, Municipal Auditorium, Music Hall and more.

A group of condo owners in the San Francisco Tower, about one block from the proposed stadium site, have filed a lawsuit to protect their rights throughout the construction process.

Royals Chairman and CEO John Sherman first announced plans to move the ballpark downtown in 2022. In 2024, Jackson County voters rejected a proposal using sales tax dollars to move the stadium to the Crossroads near 16th and Oak streets and renovate Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs have since announced plans to move to Kansas.

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