Crown Center businesses welcome new Royals stadium — ‘as long as we can stay’
Businesses inside Crown Center were feeling optimistic Wednesday morning, after the Royals, Hallmark and Kansas City shared plans to build a new baseball stadium at Crown Center.
Dave Walby, who works at his son’s store, Sportibles, which sells various sports merch and accessories, including sections for the Chiefs and the Royals, said his son has had the Crown Center storefront for 12 years.
“I think it’s a real good idea as long as we can stay here, I don’t know if they’re going to just kick everybody out. We don’t know those details yet,” he said, adding his family will try to stay as long as they can, though a raise of rent is on their mind.
Stacey Paine, president of Crown Center, said in a letter to tenants that they will be doing “comprehensive planning” for the stadium project, and there will not be immediate disruption for the rest of 2026 and into 2027.
“I hope it can all work out. What a prime spot to be here,” Walby said. “I just hope that they don’t have some big corporation come in. (Crown Center’s) whole idea down here is they wanted family, small business.”
Crown Center has been around since the 1970s, hosting 18 shops, 22 dining options and 9 attractions, including the SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium, Burnt End BBQ and Halls Kansas City.
Delaney Dorria, assistant manager at EB and Co., which sells jewelry and accessories, said the company hopes to take advantage of the future increase of sports fan foot traffic with their Royals accessories.
“I think it’ll be great because we have a bunch more Royals gear, so people can come in, get their gear and then go to the game,” she said.
In the news release, the Royals announced their intentions to move to Crown Center, a sprawling, 85-acre mixed-use shopping district near downtown Kansas City as part of a joint partnership with Hallmark Cards. There were no details on when or where exactly the stadium would be located, but a provided map showed the stadium close to 27th Street and Gillham Road southeast of the shopping center.
“We notice a lot of folks staying at either, whether it’s the Sheraton or the Western or someplace around here, coming through during baseball season or Chiefs season as well. So I would think being even that much closer would be a good thing for businesses here. That’d be my hope,” said Kyle Dewey, general Manager of Museum of Barbecue.
A top Hallmark official touted the stadium plan at Crown Center as “something proud” that would “come full circle.”
“The iconic Royals crown that Hallmark created will return to the very neighborhood where it was conceived,” said Don Hall Jr., the chair of the company’s board. “Every time a fan walks through the stadium doors, they’ll be standing in a place shaped by Kansas City and Hallmark’s creative spirit.”
Previous reporting from The Star’s Kacen Bayless, Laura Bauer and Sam McDowell was used in this piece.
This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 4:08 PM.
