Clay County leader says Royals will miss NKC stadium deadline: ‘I’m done’
A Clay County official said a deadline for the Kansas City Royals to commit to the Northland was expected to lapse on Thursday, potentially damaging the prospects of a stadium deal in North Kansas City.
Clay County Western Commissioner Jason Withington said in an interview with The Star that the county gave the Royals a Thursday deadline to have a deal worked out ahead of a planned April 2026 vote on a potential future stadium.
Withington is one of seven county commissioners — and is not a member of the county’s negotiating committee with the team — but said it’s apparent to him the Royals would not meet that deadline.
“I’m done,” Withington said, adding that the team had years to come to a decision. “Everybody else (on the commission) can make up their own mind what they want to do. For me, I’m just done dealing with it. We have other issues that we need to be focused on.”
Withington made clear in the interview with The Star that he was only speaking for himself — not all the county commissioners — after similar comments he made on social media garnered headlines across the region.
Attempts to reach numerous other Clay County officials, including Presiding Commissioner Jerry Nolte and North Kansas City Mayor Jesse Smith, were unsuccessful on Thursday.
Withington said Thursday that Clay County officials had wanted a Royals stadium-funding measure on the November 2025 ballot, but the Royals had rejected that idea.
In the wake of those discussions, Withington said the team told officials they preferred the April 2026 ballot at the earliest. The county gave the team a Jan. 8 deadline to get a deal worked out before preparing items for the ballot, he said.
“That deadline was for them to come to have a deal worked out, have them publicly announce they’re coming to Clay County and have everything finalized so we could get them on the ballot,” Withington said.
In a post on his Facebook page, Withington said the Royals have “now told us they aren’t ready for that either.”
Revelations about the apparent lapsed deadline are noteworthy as the team weighs its future home after its lease in Kansas City expires in 2031.
Kansas and Missouri have spent the past 18 months trying to secure the team through sweeping stadium-funding incentives packages — which the Chiefs used last month to announce their intentions for a move to Kansas.
But Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, has argued that the Royals last week also missed a key Dec. 31 deadline to tap that state’s stadium-funding package and join the Chiefs across state lines.
While the lapsed deadline in Kansas sparked confidence in Missouri, news of a potentially missed deadline in Clay County could dampen the potential for a North Kansas City stadium and steer the team towards a spot in downtown Kansas City.
Missouri officials have touted both spots — downtown and North Kansas City — as appealing locations, though the energy among state leaders in Jefferson City for months appeared to be centered on Clay County.
A Royals spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Clay County’s talks with the Royals appeared to be reaching a fever pitch in October when North Kansas City put out a news release and YouTube video that called discussions with the team “substantial” and suggested a deal was in the works.
The news release came just months after Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, signed legislation that allowed Clay County to create a sports complex authority, viewed as a key tool that could attract a Royals stadium to North Kansas City.
