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As Mayor Quinton Lucas prepared to unveil a funding package<\/a> for a new Kansas City Royals stadium<\/a> earlier this month, he said that the team and city wanted to open the stadium by Opening Day 2030.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat is a very aggressive timetable,\u201d Lucas acknowledged in an exclusive interview<\/a> with The Star in early April. \u201cIt means that a lot of our legislative activity will necessarily move quickly. We will engage fairly actively.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nearly two weeks later, Royals majority owner John Sherman, standing alongside Lucas, Gov. Mike Kehoe and Don Hall Jr., the grandson of the founder of Hallmark Cards, announced plans for a new stadium to be built at Hallmark\u2019s headquarters in Crown Center.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amid the celebratory announcement, however, Royals officials did not clarify when the team hoped to open the new stadium. That lack of clarity was among several unanswered questions<\/a> that loomed over the announcement, held at a high-end Crown Center event venue on Wednesday.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sherman, in his remarks to the crowd, expressed a desire to break ground on the stadium project in 2027. But his comments \u2014 and a press release put out by the team \u2014 fell short of confirming the aggressive timeline emphasized by Lucas and other city officials.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lucas\u2019 chief of staff confirmed to The Star on Thursday that Opening Day \u2014 or the spring of \u2014 2030 was still the mayor\u2019s target.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Royals spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about that timeline.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A 2030 opening date would put the Royals in a new Crown Center stadium before their lease expires in January 2031 at Kauffman Stadium, located in the Truman Sports Complex.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n