Where to build a new Royals stadium in Kansas City? There’s one clear choice | Opinion

Kansas City is at a pivotal decision point. The location of the Royals’ future stadium will have a dramatic and lasting impact on the trajectory of our city.

The clear choice is to build an iconic new stadium and mixed-use ballpark district that can serve as a permanent anchor in the heart of Kansas City’s cultural center.

This is a rare chance for us to create an amazing tourist experience for conventioneers and vacationing families. This is our shot at making Kansas City one of the top destinations in America.

Imagine the excitement of visitors enjoying baseball in the city center and conveniently riding the streetcar from the CPKC Stadium on the riverfront to the River Market, the Power & Light District, the Kauffman Center, the Crossroads Arts District, Union Station, Crown Center, the National World War I Museum and Memorial, the Nelson-Atkins and Kemper museums, the Country Club Plaza and countless entertainment venues and restaurants along the way.

Visualize the rave reviews that fans and visitors would give Kansas City after attending a Royals game amid so many cultural and entertainment attractions. Picture the backdrop of our downtown skyline from the stands in a new ballpark in Washington Square Park, at Main Street and Pershing Road. It would showcase our beautiful city like never before.

Think of the tremendous amount of new tourist revenue that would flow to local businesses and boost our city’s economy.

Fulfilling the vision of former Mayor Kay Barnes, the River-Crown-Plaza District features the highest concentration of hotels and demand-generators in the Kansas City region, all of which will soon be conveniently connected by the expanded streetcar line like a string of pearls. There’s simply no better place for a new ballpark.

A new stadium in the heart of the city would support existing hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues.

Greater downtown has a uniquely permanent character. It is home to historic architecture and beautiful landmarks that have stood the test of time. It is what gives Kansas City its identity.

Suburbs, on the other hand, are more ephemeral in nature. Shopping centers and bedroom communities serve their purposes, but their life cycles are woefully short. Can you name a major suburban cultural attraction, much less one that has endured for more than 20 or 30 years?

A suburban baseball stadium would surely follow that pattern. It would not last, and it would not elevate Kansas City’s identity. In fact, it may do the opposite.

We made that mistake in the 1970s when we dispersed major assets — the airport, the stadiums, Kemper Arena and shopping centers — to all points of the compass. Like kicking the logs of a roaring fire, we scattered them and weakened our core through suburban sprawl. Predictably, the fire died out.

Over the last two decades, though, downtown has come back strong. With nearly 34,000 residents, 35% of the city’s employment base, millions of visitors and a vibrant cultural scene, downtown is on the cusp of returning to its glory days. A baseball stadium would be the final piece to the puzzle of our remarkable resurgence.

We cannot repeat the mistakes of our past. The next few weeks are critical. Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has called for a special session of the General Assembly to approve a stadium package that can compete with Kansas to keep the Royals in Kansas City. It is “do or die” time.

Kansas is aggressively pursuing the Royals with a generous incentives package of STAR bonds that could pay for more than 70% of the cost of a new suburban stadium. And now the Royals have secured a viable alternative at the Aspiria campus in Overland Park. We cannot ignore this very real competition.

Let’s get this decision right. It’s time to play ball in the heart of Kansas City.