<\/p>\n
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div> The Truman Sports Complex currently home to Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Kansas City. <\/p>\n tljungblad@kcstar.com<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n <\/p>\n The Kansas City Royals\u2019 years-long plan to build a new stadium hasn\u2019t yet settled on a location.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But is one option narrowing?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Kansas financial incentive package that lured the Chiefs across the state line<\/a> doesn\u2019t technically expire until June 2026.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But the influential council of state lawmakers who approved the Chiefs\u2019 deal previously voted to close both teams\u2019 window of opportunity on Dec. 31. And the top lawmaker responsible for setting that council\u2019s agenda in 2026 says he has no plans to extend that deadline beyond Wednesday to accommodate the Royals.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTime\u2019s up \u2014 as I\u2019ve said before, today is the deadline for STAR Bond proposals,\u201d Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said Wednesday in a statement to The Star. Hawkins takes over as chair of the Legislative Coordinating Council, or LCC, on Thursday.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While the Royals didn\u2019t reach an agreement in Kansas before the LCC-imposed deadline, they still haven\u2019t ruled out a move across the state line, either.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n They have long explored a potential site at the Aspiria campus<\/a> near 119th Street and Nall Avenue in Overland Park, and the club still considers that among its possible destinations. A Royals affiliate purchased the mortgage of the 200-acre campus in May, giving the team some financial leverage over the site.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The team, which has played at Kauffman Stadium since 1973, has concurrently maintained its interest in sites in downtown Kansas City and just across the river in North Kansas City.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The downtown option \u2014 the Royals\u2019 original vision more than four years ago \u2014 is gaining public and political support after the Chiefs announced last week their intentions to move to Wyandotte County in Kansas. That move sent shock waves across Missouri among its state, county and city leaders, who collectively have appeared as motivated as ever not to let the Royals follow suit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has reiterated his desire for a downtown stadium at Washington Square Park<\/a>, a site in the mix for more than a year that sits north of Crown Center and east of Union Station, which was aglow in Royals blue over the weekend. The Union Station social media team released a statement advocating for a Royals move next door<\/a>. Lucas wore a Royals hoodie sweatshirt during a Facebook Q&A over the weekend.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The emotion about keeping the Royals in Missouri has perceptibly changed in the last 10 days. But has the offer changed? And have the Royals changed their plans?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The team has consistently said it is exploring all options for a new stadium and surrounding development project, including the three aforementioned sites. That remains true in both Kansas and Missouri after the Chiefs\u2019 revealed their plans last week.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Kansas incentive package specifically authorizes the state to subsidize as many as two new professional stadiums, but it\u2019s unclear how big of an appetite its leadership would have for another multi-billion dollar stadium project backed by public funds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n Tammy Ljungblad
\n <\/span><\/p>\nRoyals stadium options<\/h2>\n
Public funding in Kansas<\/h2>\n