KCMO City Plan Commission green-lights rezoning plan for Royals Crown Center ballpark district

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri, City Plan Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday morning to approve the urban redevelopment plan for the Kansas City Royals’ proposed stadium and ballpark district at Crown Center.

The nearly $3 billion plan includes an area from East Pershing Road to East 27th Street and Main Street to Gillham Road.

The vote advances plans for a 90-acre development, and its approval does not require the Royals or Crown Center to seek additional public comment unless there are major changes to the preliminary master plan.

Brooks Sherman, the Royals' president of real estate and development, called the project a win on multiple fronts.

"It's perfect for the city, it's perfect for the Royals and it's perfect for Crown Center," he said.

Not everyone in attendance shared that enthusiasm. Some of the same detractors who interrupted a public meeting in late July about the project renewed their objection to giving even preliminary approval to a project without a public vote.

But the financing and ultimate fate of the project wasn’t up for debate at the CPC, which was only considering the rezoning issues.

Residents of the San Francisco Tower — a residential building that would sit next door to the proposed stadium — raised concerns about noise and light pollution, traffic congestion and parking, among other issues.

"Really, what we're looking for is some communication and consideration, and some concrete agreements that are going to protect our quality of life and the quiet enjoyment we expect in our homes,” said Vice President of the San Francisco Tower Board of Managers David Byrn. “That's not there yet.”

Crown Center Redevelopment Corporation President Stacey Payne said the development team wants to work collaboratively with neighbors.

“We’re early on in this project, and I know there's a lot of questions that people want answered,” she said. “... We really do want to work with them, and we want everybody to be excited about what's coming to the district. As we have more information, as we get more information about the master plan and we get more information about the construction schedule, that's part of what we'll be sharing with people.”

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Sherman echoed that sentiment, saying the Royals want to be “great neighbors” to residents and businesses near Crown Center.

"And we don't say that just to say it,” he said. “I think we will prove that.”

But San Francisco Tower residents say they need more than words — after all, Missouri is the Show-Me State.

Ben Lindner, president of the San Francisco Tower Board of Managers, said most residents are open to the project, but not if it takes a wrecking ball to their quality of life.

"Most of our residents want to be connected to Kansas City, and we're excited to be connected to the Kansas City Royals,” he said. “We're just concerned about how we get from here to there and making sure that we can just do it in a way that is most productive for all parties involved.”

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Past dealings with Crown Center haven’t engendered faith — at least not without promises in writing, which San Francisco Tower residents say they’ve yet to receive.

"Just our experience living in this community is [that] every time something happens, we get kind of pushed against a wall, and Crown Center doesn't have to come through for what would be good for our building," Lindner said.

Residents currently have a contract for parking in a Crown Center garage and maintain a pool and clubhouse on Crown Center property, which is within the rezoning district. San Francisco Tower residents want protection for such amenities.

Fortunately, Byrn said residents felt the commission took their concerns seriously and pushed for commitments from the development team.

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"They understood the concern, and they were trying to get commitments from the Royals and Crown Center to at least do some studies," Byrn said.

The City Plan Commission’s approval came with a series of conditions, including requirements for studying the noise and light pollution a stadium would create and to ensure access to dedicated resident parking.

But the plan also added up to 1,500 new residential units in the development area, so residents want additional traffic studies and a dedicated liaison to help work through issues as they arise over the course of multiple phases across 15 years.

"I asked both Ms. Payne and Mr. Brooks afterwards, ‘When are we going to schedule our biweekly meetings?’ Which is clearly what the commission wants, and the answer was, ‘We'll get back to you,’” said Byrn, a former Jackson County judge. “That's kind of been our experience, unfortunately.”

He hopes things change before the KCMO City Council pushes forward with final approval, which residents who’ve gathered signatures in hopes of putting the project to a public vote have decried as a rushed process.

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Sherman outlined the next steps for the project.

"We continue to work with the city manager's office, Mario, and Mayor Lucas as we finalize lease agreements, development agreements, the funding agreement with the city as well as the state, so those are all next steps," Sherman said.

It will be up to the full city council and city planning staff to address outstanding community concerns as the project moves forward, but CPC approval was a prerequisite toward a possible groundbreaking next year, with eyes toward completing Phase I and opening the new stadium in time for the 2030 season.

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.

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