Whispers of the Kansas City Royals, Kauffman Stadium, moving to the Crossroads began in August of 2023, but this move would force multiple local businesses to be demolished. The building plans show the new stadium to be a block away from the T-Mobile center, putting it in the heart of the city.
The Royals original statement on the matter said that their reason for moving is to, “ increase neighborhood connectivity, access and the ongoing South Loop Project.”
The South Loop Project is a plan to create an urban park in the center of the city to bring community, green space, and overall aesthetic to downtown KC. The project aims to connect parts of the city, and would be a “world class facility” if finished according to DowntownKC.
While there is no doubt this project and the movement of Kauffman stadium would bring economic growth to Jackson County, the local businesses that have fought tooth and nail to get where they are must not be forgotten in the name of economic growth, and increased income for the founders and owners of the Royals.
It is not a new sight to see major corporations and large public figures speak up about things that directly benefit them, without thinking of the consequences their actions may cause. While the Royals Chairman and Chief Executive John Sherman speaks of valuing community, and wanting to bring that to the Crossroads, he forgets that a community already exists there.
This movement would essentially destroy parts of that community. People go to the Crossroads to experience things like First Fridays, and all of the fun events they have, but how is that going to be possible when a huge stadium is plopped right in the middle, effectively making multiple beloved small businesses cease to exist.
In an interview with the Kansas City Star, Crossroads native Fawn Lies speaks up about what passing the new sales tax to fund the movement of Kauffman stadium would do to the area.
“It’s frustrating to see that the sports teams that we all champion are so ready to throw away that community for the sake of a few extra bucks,” Lies said in an interview with Kansas City Star reporters Noelle Alviz-Gransee and Nathan Pilling . “They’ve got millions.”
The Chiefs and the Royals are beloved sports teams to this city, there is amazing turnout to both teams’ games and there is essentially no real reason for Kauffman to want to move to the heart of the city.
Sherman stated that one reason for wanting to move is access, but moving to an incredibly condensed and populated part of the city will only help the people living in that area gain easier access. This forgets about the many people that live on the outskirts of the city, where would they park and how would they get there? Are they going to demolish more buildings to make room for a parking lot?
This is not an effective solution, and while it seems as if it would benefit the city in numerous ways, in reality it causes divide, fear and resentment of the team’s many Kansas City residents hold close to their hearts.
Not to help matters, while neither team has explicitly stated what they would do if the tax is rejected, according to Dave Skretta with the Associated Press, both the Royals and Chiefs have stated that they will “keep their options open.” Which could include leaving Kansas City altogether.
Frankly, to say this days before the election that basically seals the fate of the two billion dollar project is manipulative and uses the fans’ love of these teams against them, and against the community created in the Crossroads area.
The poll results are in with 58.1% voting no and 41.9% voting yes. The attempts to squash the creative and loving community of the Crossroads has failed and following the final results of the poll, Sherman released a statement on X.
A statement from John Sherman regarding today's Jackson County election: pic.twitter.com/t85qx0Cwfh
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) April 3, 2024
While wanting a renovated stadium in the heart of an electric city is understandable, the way Kauffman went about selling the idea to the city fell flat. They were not genuine with their intentions, and that rubbed a lot of the city the wrong way. Creating a plan that blatantly destroys a block of local businesses, and implying that it’s to create community while not in any way acknowledging the current community that resides there is not an honest and thoughtful way of indicating that changes are wanting to be made. It is possible that if the team had gone about this in a different way there could have been a chance, but the way the situation was handled left a sour taste in the mouth of many Kansas City residents.
