Missouri OKs $80M that could aid new Royals stadium

Missouri lawmakers this week quietly approved $80 million that could be used to develop infrastructure around a new Kansas City Royals stadium, a fresh revelation to the team’s planned move to Crown Center near downtown.

The funding, tucked in the state’s roughly $50 billion proposed budget, makes no reference to the Royals or the stadium project. But several lawmakers raised questions to The Star about whether a portion of the money was intended to develop the area around the stadium, planned at the site of the corporate headquarters for Hallmark Cards.

One of the first public references to the mysterious allocation’s potential tie to the Royals came Wednesday evening in the Missouri Senate. Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern criticized the fact that her colleagues were helping fund the massive stadium project instead of adding additional money for mental health services.

“This is the stuff that makes me sick,” said Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat, juxtaposing the funding with cuts to other programs. She claimed that the money would boost the more than $3 billion stadium project, which the team unveiled last month.

A spokesperson for Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe rejected the idea that the $80 million was specifically earmarked for the Royals stadium, but confirmed that some of it could be used for the project.

“While this budget item is not an earmark to the Royals, a portion of the funding could be used to address public infrastructure needs arising from the proposed downtown stadium,” said spokesperson Gabby Picard. “There are currently no commitments to fund any specific amount of any specific project with this budget item.”

Inside the funding

Publicly available documents and a spreadsheet provided to the state lawmakers who approved the money do not reference the Royals or any other projects that could benefit from the funding. The lack of information illustrates Missouri’s opaque budgeting process, which allows lawmakers to approve funding on items that are shrouded in vague language.

The budget document that lawmakers debated and approved Wednesday evening states only that the funding would go towards certain infrastructure improvement projects. The funding would pull money from interest generated from the yearslong project to widen Interstate 70 across the state.

“For construction and renovation of wastewater, stormwater, and water infrastructure to support new connections and upgrades to existing sanitary sewer, storm drainage, and potable water systems and other economic development and infrastructure improvements,” the document said.

Picard framed the funding as a way to address public infrastructure projects across the state, such as water, sewer, stormwater and transportation. She also touted the fact that the money would come from the state’s massive I-70 project.

“This funding creates an opportunity for Missourians across the state to benefit from the Improve I-70 project,” Picard said.

Mayor Quinton Lucas declined comment when asked whether Kansas City officials requested the state funding and what, exactly, the money could be used for regarding the stadium.

A Royals spokesperson declined to weigh in when asked about the funding.

Royals stadium plans

The $80 million raises a slew of questions for state, city and team officials. Chief among them is whether the city or team plans to tap into a portion of the state funding and what, exactly, it would be used for.

After Wednesday’s approval, the state’s multi-billion-dollar budget for the next fiscal year will soon head to Kehoe’s desk. The Republican governor will have the power to approve or veto the $80 million in state funds.

If the money is used towards infrastructure around the stadium, that funding would be in addition to the money the team is hoping to secure from Missouri for the stadium itself.

The Royals and city officials are hoping the state will chip in money for the cost of the stadium, which is expected to be 60% publicly funded and 40% privately funded, according to preliminary documents obtained by The Star.

Money for the stadium itself could come from a sweeping stadium funding package Kehoe signed into law last year in the hopes of keeping the Royals and Kansas City Chiefs inside state lines. State officials have provided no specifics about how much the state plans to chip in.

Missouri’s approval of the funding comes just two weeks after Royals majority owner John Sherman unveiled his plans for the proposed stadium in Crown Center in a partnership with Hallmark.

City officials said they hope to open the stadium by Opening Day 2030, but have acknowledged that the timeline is aggressive.

Kacen Bayless

The Kansas City Star

Kacen Bayless is the Democracy Insider for The Kansas City Star, a position that uncovers how politics and government affect communities across the sprawling Kansas City area. Prior to this role, he covered Missouri politics for The Star. A graduate of the University of Missouri, he previously was an investigative reporter in coastal South Carolina.