A<\/span> partnership unveiled Wednesday would use billions in private investment and economic development dollars to bring Royals baseball to Crown Center \u2014 creating an 85-acre development surrounding a park-like central square with fountains, officials from the baseball club and Hallmark Cards announced.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen the new Royals stadium opens at Crown Center, something proud will come full circle,\u201d said Don Hall Jr., executive chairman of the board of directors for Hallmark Cards. \u201cThe iconic Royals crown that Hallmark created will return to the very neighborhood where it was conceived. Every time a fan walks through the stadium doors, they\u2019ll be standing in a place shaped by Kansas City and Hallmark\u2019s creative spirit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The announcement came amid months of speculation that the Royals would select a smaller site nearby at Washington Square Park. The <\/span>city of Kansas City, Missouri, passed a funding plan last week<\/span><\/a> with heavy support from officials for a site near Union Station.<\/span><\/p>\n The just-named Crown Center location would include a world-class ballpark, a mixed-use development, and reimagined headquarters for both the Royals and Hallmark. Company officials called the plan unprecedented for a professional sports project, and noted the expected private investment of $2 billion or more would be the largest in Kansas City history.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur founder Ewing Kauffman wanted the Royals to be Kansas City\u2019s forever, and he wanted the team to benefit his hometown as much as possible,\u201d said John Sherman, CEO and chairman of the Kansas City Royals. \u201cJoining Hallmark with this project achieves both and extends the Hall family\u2019s critical legacy of helping Kansas City grow.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Sherman and Hall have known and worked together for decades, including through each family\u2019s civic and philanthropic efforts that have touched all corners of their shared hometown, the Royals said in a press release.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat trust and mutual respect proved critical in creating a possibility that nobody would have imagined even a year ago,\u201d the release said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>A timeline for the massive sports and entertainment district has not yet been announced. The total project would be funded primarily by the Royals and other private investors and supplemented by public funding from the City of Kansas City and Missouri\u2019s Show-Me Sports Investment Act.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe public-private partnership between Hallmark, the Royals, Kansas City and our state ensures we connect our neighborhoods, keeps our downtown vibrant and maintains big league baseball in our city for generations to come,\u201d said Quinton Lucas, mayor of Kansas City, Missouri.<\/span><\/p>\n
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