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LEAWOOD, Kan. \u2014 FOX4 has more reaction to the thought of a baseball stadium going in at 119th Street\u00a0and Nall Avenue in Overland Park.<\/p>\n
The old Sprint Campus, now known as Aspiria, is in Overland Park\u2019s city limits. Just east of Nall, and north of that stated location, though, are Leawood\u2019s city limits.<\/p>\n
The Kansas City Royals wouldn\u2019t comment on this FOX4 story Thursday or Friday.<\/p>\n
Leawood official weighs in on Royals stadium issue <\/a><\/p>\n Back in March, though, Chairman and CEO John Sherman told reporters he did not envision his team playing at Kauffman Stadium in 2031. The lease for his team ends before their 2031 season begins.<\/p>\n Angela and Tony Bertocchini live more than ten minutes from 119th\u00a0and Nall, but they don\u2019t want a stadium going in at that intersection. Our first question for Angela late Friday afternoon was whether she was concerned the Royals were serious about that site.<\/p>\n \u201cMy first thought was, \u2018No way.\u2019 There\u2019s just, logistically, it does not make sense,\u201d Angela said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then when I started hearing a little bit more, \u2018Oh, this is a serious option they\u2019re considering,\u2019 I thought, \u2018Oh wow. We better start speaking out against this as citizens of this area so close.’\u201d<\/p>\n Angela said she thinks citizens of Leawood and Overland Park would potentially band together to try to fight a stadium development at 119th and Nall.<\/p>\n She says people move to those cities because of the \u2018small community feel\u2019 it has, being close to the grocery store and the ability to walk their children to school.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t imagine their thought would be, \u2018Oh, I hope I\u2019m right next door to a baseball stadium where thousands of fans can come pooling into my neighborhood,’\u201d Angela said.<\/p>\n Late in May, FOX4 confirmed an affiliate of theirs bought the mortgage on the Aspiria campus. Republican State House Rep. Sean Tarwater says if the Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) Bond District\u2019s drawn into Leawood, and that city wanted to give its increased sales tax revenue back to pay off the development, the city council would have to vote on it.<\/p>\n Friday, FOX4 also talked to Angela\u2019s husband, Tony Bertocchini, as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThe community engagement needs to probably start very soon if they\u2019re serious about moving the ball team to Overland Park,\u201d Tony said Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to have people that are going to be upset about the traffic impact, the impact to schools in the area. I think about the elementary school, the high school that are right across the street there.\u201d<\/p>\n Royals on Roku: How to watch the Kansas City Royals for free on Sunday <\/a><\/p>\n Late in July, Leawood\u2019s Strategic Communications Director Beth Breitenstein told FOX4 that Leawood strongly supports the sense of community pride the local sports teams bring to our region. Leawood leaders have not been willing to talk on camera about it, though.<\/p>\n \u201cIf a site in close proximity to Leawood is ultimately selected by the Royals, we look forward to engaging with the community on this opportunity,\u201d the city statement goes on to say.<\/p>\n \u201cNot yet,\u201d Angela said when asked if she and her husband had reached out to the Leawood City Council.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I plan to.\u201d<\/p>\n