Johnson County residents relieved that Royals stadium won’t be in their backyard

Mark Kelly was relieved when the Kansas City Royals announced Tuesday that a baseball stadium near his home in Overland Park was off the table.

“I’m very happy that they’ve kind of seen the light about the location at the Aspiria Campus,” Kelly, an Overland Park resident, said. “I don’t think it really would have worked to put that stadium there. I think we presented a lot of reasons why not and I hope we were a part of their careful consideration.”

Earlier in the day, The Royals confirmed with The Star that they are no longer considering building a stadium at the Aspiria campus, formerly Sprint, near 119th Street and Nall Avenue in Overland Park near the border of Leawood.

“After significant evaluation, we do not believe this site meets our criteria for a stadium,” the team said in a statement. “We continue to evaluate opportunities throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area to create a world-class ballpark district. As always, we hear and appreciate the input of our fans throughout the region.”

The proposed Johnson County site garnered a lot of opposition from nearby residents and homeowners associations, who expressed concerns about increased traffic, public safety and emergency access, parking in residential neighborhoods, infrastructure capacity and impacts to nearby schools.

“This took a village and there were so many people … who came together to ensure that this shouldn’t happen,” said Overland Park resident Marsha Friedman, who helped support the opposition efforts. “We had a grassroots group that rolled up our sleeves and got busy. The residents were critical.”

Overland Park officials couldn’t speak to the announcement specifically. Instead a city spokesperson said that the city supports its hometown team and “will do everything in our power to keep them” in the KC region.

Leawood Mayor Marc Elkins is currently out of the country and couldn’t provide a statement, city spokesperson Beth Breitenstein said, but he expressed his opposition to a baseball stadium at the Aspiria campus in December.

“Given the concerns raised by residents and the opposition voiced by key institutions in this area, as well as the lack of information regarding the project, the city of Leawood cannot at this time support the location of a stadium at the Aspiria campus in Overland Park,” Elkins said in the statement.

Residents took action

Attention on the site intensified after the Royals confirmed last spring that a team affiliate purchased the $232.5 million mortgage of the former Sprint campus, giving the team leverage over the site’s future.

The team’s move to purchase the debt prompted nearby residents and homeowners associations to organize and rally against the stadium coming to the Johnson County suburb. They claimed that a stadium would be problematic for traffic, public safety, infrastructure and businesses, including the Jewish Community Center.

Kelly, the president of Hawthorne Place Homes Association — a community near the Aspiria campus between 122nd and 123rd streets and Nall — helped spearhead part of the efforts, creating a petition in opposition of the stadium that garnered more than 2,000 signatures.

In early December, several HOAs came together to host a community meeting in Leawood to encourage people to share their concerns to their legislators and Royals owners, which saw more than 250 people in attendance.

“I absolutely do feel heard,” Kelly said. “We were feeling heard when the whole city of Leawood (decided) that they didn’t want the stadium … As a matter of fact, we felt heard by many of the merchants and the residents all around the stadium that opposed the idea.”

“It’s a great feeling the Royals have finally listened and formally announced that they’re not coming.”

Friedman echoed his sentiments.

“I’m pleased and I think the Royals listened to us,” she said. “I’m grateful to the Royals organization, I’m grateful they listened to our concerns, did their own research and confirmed that what (we) were saying was true: It was not going to be a viable place for a stadium in this community.”

What will happen with Aspiria’s mortgage?

Despite garnering a lot of momentum, Kelly said he still felt nervous prior to the announcement.

“I think in some ways, we got even more nervous after the Chiefs announcement because the Chiefs held that so close and nobody really had a clue that they were coming, you know, until the announcement was made,” he said.

In late December, the Kansas City Chiefs announced their intention to build a new domed stadium and training facility in Wyandotte and Johnson counties. Kelly said that the announcement made it “more tense” as they waited for updates.

With the announcement bringing some relief, he now wonders what will happen with the Aspiria mortgage and what might come into the campus.

Sam Mellinger, a spokesperson for the Royals, couldn’t confirm any future actions regarding the site’s mortgage at this time.

With the Overland Park site eliminated, the Royals did not say they are done exploring all options in Kansas. However, it would be more difficult to get something approved after Kansas gave both the Chiefs and Royals a Dec. 31, 2025, deadline to use its financing tools.

The other two options that have been previously reported include a downtown Kansas City stadium at Washington Square Park near Crown Center and east of Union Station, or a North Kansas City location. However, a Clay County official said the Royals missed a necessary deadline to commit to the Northland last month.