Proprietário do Kansas City Royals: o estádio do centro ainda é o objetivo

At Royals Rally on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium, Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman took little off the table when it comes to the team’s new stadium plans.

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Both sides of the state line remain in play. So does a Clay County location, Sherman said.

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Even remaining at Kauffman Stadium beyond the current lease that expires after the 2030 season, undesirable as it might be, remains a possibility.

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“That’s always a fallback position, we have that option,” Sherman said. “But that’s not something we intend to happen. That would be, from my perspective, kicking the can down the road relative to making sure we settle the Royals into their next generation.”

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But a downtown location was Sherman’s original vision for a new Royals home, and that remains his ideal scenario.

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“Just like in any business, you have to be willing to adapt and be flexible to achieve that ultimate goal,” Sherman said. “But I think if you have your druthers, I would love to see us kind of in the heart of the city, in the cultural part of the city, where we can enhance maybe some things that are already going on and make it better.

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“So, that’s probably a soft spot, but I have to be open to other ideas, right?”

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Downtown appears to be the Royals’ direction. Last week, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Interim Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota were invited to a closed-door meeting with Gov. Mike Kehoe to discuss plans to keep the team in Jackson County. The team has studied the possibility of a stadium at Washington Square Park near Crown Center.

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Options in Kansas and Clay County appeared to have dwindled as funding deadlines passed.

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Last week, the Royals announced they were no longer considering the Aspiria campus in Overland Park.

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But Sherman didn’t close the door on either possibility.

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“We made the decision to walk away from the Aspiria site,” Sherman said. “But we still have opportunities on that side of the state line.”

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Sherman didn’t reveal those opportunities.

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Also, “Clay County is in play,” said Sherman when asked specifically about the Northland site.

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But in his first public comments in several months on the stadium issue, Sherman seemed more honed in on a downtown site. He believes the team will announce a decision on the new ballpark “sooner rather than later,” and he continues to seek a mixed-use project.

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“It’s 81 nights, but it’s also all you can do around it 365 days a year both in terms of energy and vibrancy,” Sherman said.

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In 2024, Jackson County voters turned down an extension of a 3/8-cent sales tax that would have been used to help fund a new baseball stadium and refurbish Arrowhead Stadium. Since then, the Chiefs have announced plans to build a new stadium in Kansas.

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Sherman said the Royals are looking for a “public partner” to help fund a new stadium.

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“We’re working day and night right now to find a way to make sure this team stays here for as long as any of us are going to be around,” Sherman said. “The public partners is what ties you to a community.

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“These are community assets. I acquired this team … because I certainly love baseball, and I Iove to compete. We love this city, and we want to make sure it’s here long after we’re gone.”