Crown Center tenants reassured after Royals stadium news. No ‘immediate changes’
As leaders with The Royals, Hallmark and Kansas City unveiled plans Wednesday morning for a baseball stadium at Crown Center, tenants of the complex received a letter from management.
Stacey Paine, president of Crown Center, told tenants that for the rest of 2026 and into 2027, the complex will be conducting “comprehensive planning” for the stadium project. But there shouldn’t be any immediate disruption, she said.
“Here’s what’s important for you to know,” Paine wrote to tenants. “Crown Center and the people that you are used to dealing with are still here. We don’t foresee any immediate changes to how we operate.”
The Royals, in a news release early Wednesday, announced their intentions to move their stadium to Crown Center, a sprawling, 85-acre mixed-use shopping district near downtown Kansas City as part of a joint partnership with Hallmark Cards.
A top city official told The Star on Tuesday that the stadium footprint would not sit in Washington Square Park, which had been publicly discussed as a possibility.
“Crown Center will cement its place as the literal heart of Kansas City,” Paine said in her letter. “... This development realizes Crown Center’s original vision to be a ‘city within a city,’ combining hotel, office, retail, residential, and entertainment spaces into a thriving ecosystem.”
Paine said Hallmark Cards will relocate its “global headquarters” to a new location within Crown Center.
“We are excited about Crown Center’s future and deeply grateful for your partnership as we embark on this transformative chapter,” Paine wrote.
