KC is one step closer to striking deal with Royals for new stadium near downtown
Kansas City is one step closer to a downtown baseball stadium near Union Station after a City Council committee on Tuesday advanced an ordinance that allows the city to negotiate a funding plan with the Royals and other government agencies.
After slightly tweaking its language, the council’s Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee approved sending the ordinance to the full council for a final vote on Thursday.
The proposal would open the door for the city to strike a deal with the Royals to build a $1.9 billion Major League Baseball stadium in the “Washington Square Park/Crown Center area.” The city would offer up to $600 million of public funding support, but the actual cost to the city could come in lower than that.
The ordinance directs City Manager Mario Vasquez to negotiate development plans and a lease agreement with the team. It also directs him to apply for a tax increment finance plan and additional state funding to support the project.
While the ordinance authorizes up to $250,000 of funding for pre-development expenses, city officials said it would not immediately fund the stadium project. The City Council would need to approve a funding agreement and a TIF plan at a later date.
“There’s nothing written in stone,” 6th District At-Large Councilmember Andrea Bough said. “This is just the beginning of the discussion and the plan.”
The city’s proposal includes constructing the stadium, new offices and infrastructure improvements, including street and utility upgrades. The city would own the stadium and enter a lease agreement with the team. The city anticipates construction of the stadium would take four years, ahead of the Royals’ lease expiring in 2031.
The financing plan includes issuing bonds worth up to $600 million that the city would pay off through tax revenue generated in and around the stadium. The city anticipates the proposed bond would be a 30-year commitment. Mayor Quinton Lucas told reporters that the bond would largely be paid through sales tax revenue generated in a stadium district.
However, the bond would be backed by the city, meaning if the new stadium does not generate enough tax revenue to cover the cost of bond payments, the city would need to pay for those expenses through other means — like its general fund.
Councilmember Johnathan Duncan, who represents the 6th District, criticized the proposal, suggesting it puts the city’s funding for core services at risk. He noted that the city’s feasibility studies for other publicly funded projects, like the Power and Light District, have not been accurate and ended up costing the city.
“This is putting us at a financial precarious bind,” Duncan said.
However, Vasquez said the project will use a conservative view on revenue estimates to help ensure that enough tax revenue is generated to cover the costs to prevent the city from needing to dip into its budget to pay for the stadium.
Dozens of Kansas City residents expressed opposition to the proposal during the meeting, repeatedly mentioning that Jackson County voters rejected a tax proposal in 2024 that would have funded a new Royals stadium in the Crossroads and paid for upgrades to Arrowhead Stadium through a countywide sales tax.
Several critics also suggested the city would be wasting public tax dollars on a stadium when it should be focusing on improving city services and infrastructure.
Meanwhile, representatives of business and trade associations told the committee that they supported the project because it would boost the local economy.
Mike Talboy, political director for The Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council, said the new stadium would create new jobs in the area and help generate more tax revenue that can be used to benefit the entire city.
“The revenues generated will allow us as a city to move forward and fund things that we also need to go fund and need to find revenues for,” Talboy said. “And we’ll keep our baseball team right here in Kansas City.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 3:50 PM.
