A member of Stand Up KC holds up a sign during a presentation about the proposed rezoning of Crown Center for a new Kansas City Royals ballpark at the Regnier Theatre inside Union Station on Monday, July 27, 2026, in Kansas City.
Protesters derailed a rezoning meeting on Crown Center, cutting short a hearing intended to inform residents about redevelopment plans to accommodate a new downtown Royals stadium.
The public meeting is the first in a series of steps the Royals must complete to create a new “sports and entertainment district” within Crown Center. A series of speakers representing the team, the shopping, dining and retail district, and the development detailed plans for the area.
About an hour into the meeting, as the last remaining speaker was at the podium, members of the Missouri Workers Center erupted in chants of “let us vote.” The progressive labor advocacy group broke out in chants and heckled speakers.
Last month, the group, along with Stand Up KC, delivered signatures to City Hall seeking to force a public vote on the city’s plan to contribute $600 million to fund the new $1.9 billion stadium. It’s unclear if it can stop the stadium, and Mayor Quinton Lucas has said that he’s anticipating construction to begin before a vote can derail it.
The meeting ended about 15 minutes early. During a question-and-answer period, when presenters addressed prescreened questions from the crowd, a host announced they would end the meeting amid the ongoing outburst.
Fran Marion, one of the protesters, said she showed up at the meeting to send a message about mismatched priorities.
“We voted before. We told them no. You’re not hearing me, so let me come back and tell you again,” Marion said. “There’s more important things out here in Kansas City than a Royals Stadium.”
But many of those in attendance were frustrated by the outburst that led to the end of the meeting. Some in attendance shouted back at hecklers, and a majority of people raised their hands when asked if they’d like to continue the planned question-and-answer session as the meeting was being derailed.
Eric Krakky, who is involved in the neighborhood association at the San Francisco Tower in Crown Center, said it was not the right time or place to stage a protest.
“If you have civil disobedience, the proper way is to ask the question and not yell. It’s also the wrong format. This is a zoning meeting, and it’s not a public forum about voting,” Krakky said. “It’s disrespectful to the residents that want to hear and learn what’s going on in their neighborhood.”
Krakky said that he’s in favor of bringing the team downtown, and said the lost question-and-answer time could have answered some questions people have.
“It’s a big project and there’s some serious concerns,” Krakky said. “I do think it’s part of Kansas City’s future and moving us ahead, so we just don’t, we won’t, we won’t know until the next opportunity.”
Jim Edson, who lives in Union Hill on Main, said that “a lot of people were at the wrong meeting.” He’s been engaged through his neighborhood organization and has been in contact with representatives from the team, but still has some unanswered questions about the development.
“There’s a lot of details that I know aren’t there yet. This is about rezoning, and that’s pretty big stuff,” Edson said. “Mine are more in the details, like where am I going to park my bike?”
This story was originally published July 27, 2026 at 10:01 PM.
The Kansas City Star
Jack Harvel is the Missouri Politics Insider for The Kansas City Star, where he covers how state politics and government impact people in Kansas City. Before joining the star, he covered state politics in Kansas and reported on communities in Colorado and Oregon. He was born in Kansas City, raised in Lee’s Summit and graduated from Mizzou in 2019.
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