Royals’ new stake in Kansas site raises questions about promised Fiserv tech hub
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly last month unveiled a major business project slated for Overland Park, valued at $175 million and set to attract thousands of employees.
The Kansas City Royals could complicate those plans.
Earlier this week, the Kansas City Royals announced that an affiliate purchased the mortgage of the Aspiria Campus, formerly Sprint, as part of an effort to “explore all options throughout the community to develop a new stadium for the team.”
But the campus, located on West 119th Street and Nall Avenue, was already slotted for another major economic deal.
In April, Kelly’s office announced a historic incentive agreement with Milwaukee-based financial technology services company Fiserv Inc. after keeping negotiations under wraps — dubbing it Project Turtle.
The agreement would use state and private money to help open a new hub for the company and bring about 2,000 high-paying jobs to the Overland Park site.
The state promised more than $154 million in incentives over the next 10 years, and the Fortune 500 company has committed $175 million in private investment for the project to renovate 427,000 square feet of space across two Aspiria Campus buildings.
Melissa Mortiz, a Fiserv spokesperson, said in a statement that the company is aware of the recent mortgage sale and is working with the buyers at this time, but had “no comment on speculation of what may happen at a later date.”
Prior to the Royals’ announcement, Fiserv planned to open its doors in two phases in 2026.
By purchasing Aspiria’s mortgage, the baseball team has the opportunity to make roughly $66 million if the borrower can pay off their $230 million loan by its Aug. 9 due date.
If the borrowers can’t pay back the sum in time and don’t come to some kind of agreement with the Royals’ affiliate who bought the loan, that would open up a pathway for the Royals to possibly gain control of the property and consider building a stadium at the site.
However, they would still need subsidies from the Kansas Legislature to make that happen. And some lawmakers have said they are hesitant to extend the state’s stadium incentive proposal beyond its June 30 expiration date.
State and local officials were reticent to weigh in on what the mortgage sale could mean for the Fiserv deal.
Gov. Kelly’s office referred to the Kansas Department of Commerce for a statement, which didn’t respond immediately to a request for comment.
Overland Park officials referred to Fiserv for questions related to the site’s mortgage sale.
But regarding the Royals, Mayor Curt Skoog said that the city is supportive of its hometown teams, wherever they land in the metro.
“We know the Chiefs and Royals belong in the Kansas City region and will do everything in our power to keep them here,” Skoog said in the statement.