Is another Royals stadium location off the table? Clay County says no April vote
Clay County leaders on Wednesday said they would not compete with other jurisdictions over a new Kansas City Royals stadium, a striking concession that appears to cool the possibility of a North Kansas City stadium for now.
The seven-member Clay County Commission confirmed in a statement that leaders would not put forward a Royals stadium-funding measure on the April 7 ballot after a key deadline lapsed earlier this month.
“Clay County residents can be confident that their Commission will always negotiate with their best interests as the top priority,” the statement said. “The County did not and will not engage in a bidding competition with other jurisdictions.”
For nearly three years, the statement said, Clay County leaders have negotiated with the team. That negotiating team, led by Commissioners Jay Johnson, Jon Carpenter and Scott Wagner, had settled on a stadium-funding proposal, the statement said.
“Over the course of this process,” the statement said, “the County’s negotiating team developed what we believe to be a strong and competitive proposal, one designed to support a successful Royals franchise in Clay County alongside a complementary dining and entertainment district, while also protecting the financial interests of Clay County taxpayers.”
The commission’s statement pointed directly at a lapsed Jan. 8 deadline the county had set for the team, which The Star reported earlier this month. That deadline would have allowed for “sufficient time for public input and a formal vote by the Commission to place the measure before voters.”
“The Royals elected not to accept the County’s proposal within that timeframe,” the statement said. “As a result, no proposal will be presented to the public for a vote this April.”
Wednesday’s announcement came just a day after the Royals confirmed they were also no longer considering a stadium across the state line in Overland Park.
Clay County’s statement did not directly end negotiations with the team and a North Kansas City stadium could pop up again. But the dueling announcements appear to put to rest — for now — two prominently discussed stadium locations in Kansas and Missouri as the team weighs its future home after its lease expires in 2031.
The announcements appear to shift the conversation to the likelihood of a downtown Kansas City stadium, the team’s original desire. City officials have long touted a Royals stadium at Washington Square Park near Crown Center and east of Union Station.
Energy around a Jackson County stadium has also ratcheted up in recent days as Missouri leaders convey unity around a plan to keep the team inside state lines.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Interim Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota traveled to the Missouri Capitol last week for a closed-door talk with Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe that centered on a Royals stadium.
“Now, we’re talking (with) one unified voice,” LeVota told The Star after that meeting.
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.
Recently stalled negotiations in Kansas have sparked confidence in Missouri. But Wednesday’s announcement also curbed the possibility of a Northland stadium, a location heavily promoted by state leaders in Jefferson City.
Clay County’s talks with the Royals appeared to reach a fever pitch last 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 Kehoe, a Republican, signed legislation that allowed Clay County to create a sports complex authority, viewed at the time as a key tool that could attract a Royals stadium to North Kansas City.
But the county’s discussions with the team fell apart in the following months. Wednesday’s announcement confirmed comments from Clay County Western Commissioner Jason Withington, who told The Star that the Royals were expected to miss the Jan. 8 deadline to have a deal worked out.
Clay County officials had preferred that a Royals stadium-funding measure appear on the November 2025 ballot, but the Royals had rejected that idea, Withington said at the time.
In the wake of those discussions, the county gave the team a Jan. 8 deadline to settle on a plan ahead of the potential April 2026 vote on a future stadium, Withington said. The deadline to have ballot measures certified for the April 7 ballot also came and went on Tuesday, with no Royals announcement.
The Clay County commissioner told The Star at the time that he was done negotiating with the team.
This story was originally published January 28, 2026 at 10:12 AM.
