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KANSAS CITY, Mo. \u2014 Clay County Commissioner Jason Withington said Wednesday that he still loves baseball, but is “done” negotiating with the Royals<\/a> on a new stadium for the team in the county.<\/p>\n According to Withington, Thursday, Jan. 8, was the deadline for the Royals to appear on the April 2026 ballot in the county. <\/p>\n Withington said the Royals told the county that they were not ready to meet that deadline. <\/p>\n Withington took to Facebook to explain that “the joy has been drained” out of him over the last few years and expressed his dislike towards the business of baseball. <\/p>\n He called negotiations with the team “a closed chapter” and said that the county is shifting its focus elsewhere. <\/p>\n “It\u2019s time for the Commission to focus fully on priorities we control\u2014either upgrading our existing county jail or building a new one,” Withington wrote.<\/p>\n The Royals’ lease at Kauffman Stadium in the Truman Sports Complex in Jackson County expires in January 2031.<\/p>\n KSHB 41’s political reporter Charlie Keegan reported in May 2025<\/a> on efforts by Missouri to keep both the Royals and Chiefs in Missouri. <\/p>\n While the Chiefs announced that they will move to a new stadium site in 2031 in Wyandotte County, the Royals have not announced their next steps to get a new ballpark built.<\/p>\n A stadium site near 119th Street and Nall Avenue in Overland Park has emerged as a possibility for a stadium site for the ball club. <\/p>\n Some residents in that area are not happy about that possibility.<\/a><\/p>\n KSHB 41 News reached out to the Royals for comment, but has not heard back.<\/p>\n \u2014<\/p>\n<\/div>\n