Could downtown church’s expansion limit the options for a new Royals stadium location?

The Royals say they will choose by the end of February between their two preferred sites for a proposed downtown ballpark ahead of the spring election when voters will decide whether to fund part of the project with a new 40-year sales tax. But a major landowner in Kansas City’s Crossroads district may have complicated the team’s choice.

Resurrection – formerly Church of the Resurrection – announced Friday that the congregation will break ground Sunday for a $2.8 million expansion of its downtown location at 1601 Grand Boulevard.

That’s across the street from the former Kansas City Star Press Pavilion at 1601 McGee St. The Royals have been considering whether to build a new stadium in that general location. The other preferred site is in the East Village area in the northwest corner of the downtown freeway loop.

No drawings sanctioned by the teams showing how much land would be required for a stadium have been made public, if the two-square-block site of the former printing plant was chosen.

More land would need to be acquired on one or both sides of it, if the stadium could not squeeze into those 4.7 acres. By comparison, the East Village site is 27 acres and would have lots of room for new office buildings, housing and an entertainment district around it, team renderings show.

Church expansion could narrow the Royals’ options, because it would make it less likely that the stadium project could spread out to include properties to the west of the printing plant. There would be fewer parcels to acquire there than to the east. Resurrection owns an entire block along Grand Boulevard, from 16th to 17th streets and a parcel in the 1700 block of McGee.

The Royals did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how the church’s announcement might affect the team’s decision making.

But church spokeswoman Cathy Bien said Resurrection’s fast-growing, downtown congregation needs more room and can’t wait for Royals officials to make up their minds.

“We are moving forward,” Bien said. “We have heard nothing” from the Royals, she said. “This talk has been going on for years, and we are growing.”

Based in Leawood, the United Methodist megachurch opened a small downtown location in 2009. Nine years later, Resurrection opened its current building, which seats 450 for a congregation that has grown to 3,500 people.

“Since that time, the congregation, along with the downtown residential community has grown rapidly,” the church said in a news release. “Today, more than 3,500 people call Resurrection Downtown their church home, with a growing worship attendance, children’s spaces full to capacity and more teens involved in student ministry than ever before.”

The expansion would add 3,900-square feet to the 17,000-square-foot building. The new space would add a new entrance, multi-purpose room and classrooms.

Jackson County voters will decide April 2 on whether to retire the current 3/8th-cent sales tax that is set to expire in 2031 and replace it with a new tax in that same amount for 40 years to help pay part of the costs of a new Royals ballpark and major renovations of Arrowhead Stadium for the Chiefs.

This story was originally published January 26, 2024 at 1:59 PM.

Mike Hendricks

The Kansas City Star

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Mike Hendricks covered local government for The Kansas City Star until he retired in 2025. Previously he covered business, agriculture and was on the investigations team. For 14 years, he wrote a metro column three times a week. His many honors include two Gerald Loeb awards.