Royals stadium talks continue as some warm to Washington Square Park location

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The Kansas City Royals’ search for a new stadium location continues to evolve, with local businesses expressing growing support for bringing the team to Washington Square Park.

Royals stadium talks continue as some warm to Washington Square Park location

“It seems to make a lot of sense on the surface. Now, I know there’s a lot of work to be done behind the scenes, but as a neighborhood, I think we are ready to help out any way we can to make it happen,” said Nicholas Grunauer, owner of Grunauer Restaurant.

For months, three locations have been under consideration — downtown Kansas City, Clay County and the Aspiria campus in Overland Park. The Royals confirmed Tuesday the organization is no longer considering the campus at 119th and Nall.

The stadium question will not appear on the April ballot in the Northland after Clay County leaders said the Royals rejected their latest offer. However, negotiations continue.

“The process continues, and I think that’s the important thing — that we continue to pursue this,” said Jerry Nolte, Clay County Commissioner. “For the good of the people, we need to go forward regardless of how long it takes, we need to pursue their best interest.”

That news is boosting confidence behind the downtown Kansas City location at Washington Square Park. Renderings show what the ballpark could look like at that site, and nearby businesses are becoming more welcoming to the idea.

Chelsea Edwards, a salon owner who once opposed a downtown stadium, said Washington Square Park could be a game changer.

“I like to flash forward in my mind when I think about how cool this could be 20 years from now,” Edwards said.

Edwards said Washington Square Park is the only downtown location she could support.

“Washington Square Park is really the only place I could see this going, and after Union Station said that they were in support of it, I could not get that visualization out of my head,” Edwards said.

Both Edwards and Grunauer say the Washington Square Park location avoids the business disruptions that turned many against a stadium in the Crossroads.

“Having a facility, an investment of $2 billion that is activated, you know, 80 plus nights a year, I think it’s just going to create so much activity,” Grunauer said.

Many people who voted against a downtown stadium in 2024 now say the Washington Square Park site feels right.

“The last of the vote from 2024 I think was kind of, in our opinion, rushed a little bit. While I think most people were basically in favor of downtown baseball, I think that location just had a lot of challenges,” Grunauer said.

Edwards hopes enough time has passed for productive discussions around a downtown stadium again.

“By that point, I think everybody just was not ready to talk to each other anymore, but hopefully enough time has passed now,” Edwards said. “I don’t want this opportunity to slip away, but I also don’t want us to seem desperate to the point where we’ll give you whatever you want to not lose you. I hope that both sides can respect that there’s so much growth and partnership… it doesn’t have to leave a bad taste in anybody’s mouth.”

While nothing is confirmed for Washington Square Park, the growing support shows that as other options are eliminated, people are reconsidering downtown locations for the Royals’ future home.

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