Missouri officials said that K.C. could offer the Royals a new ballpark commitment “without a public vote,” as the state looks to keep the team following the Chiefs’ plans to move to Kansas, according to Kacen Bayless of the K.C. STAR. That suggests to critics that officials are “considering a stadium-funding plan that would avoid a defeat at the ballot box,” while local and state leaders “reject that framing.” The suggestion has “drawn fresh scrutiny” in the wake of Kansas luring the Chiefs. After a “key Kansas deadline lapsed last week,” Missouri officials have “expressed renewed confidence they can keep the Royals.” However, that new confidence also “brought fresh attention to the looming question of whether the team is interested in building a new stadium downtown or in the Northland.” Missouri House Speaker Jonathan Patterson “touted both sites as appealing.” He said that there was “one element in particular that made the downtown Kansas City site attractive.” Patterson: “The attractive thing about a Kansas City, Missouri, downtown location would be that it would not be subject to a vote. And I think the vote would be one of the things that we would have to overcome.” Patterson said that he did “not believe the Royals or Jackson County wanted to go before voters again after the failed 2024 vote.” But both Patterson and K.C. Mayor Quinton Lucas “rejected the notion that Kansas City was trying to avoid a public vote on a new stadium downtown” (K.C. STAR, 1/7).
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.sportsbusinessjournal.com ’
