Historic KC church learns Royals to move next-door, bell tower to overlook stadium
The century-old Catholic church, Our Lady of Sorrows, is poised to get a new neighbor: the Kansas City Royals.
Sunday worshippers going to mass could soon be joined by baseball fans going to their sacred space when the Royals stadium opens in Crown Center.
Bishop James Johnston was in the audience as leaders of the Royals, Hallmark Cards, Kansas City and the state of Missouri announced plans Wednesday morning for a baseball stadium on the site of the current Hallmark headquarters in Crown Center. Construction is expected to start in 2027 on the $3 billion project.
Renderings of the new ballpark show the red brick Our Lady of Sorrows church perched above the ballpark — which would be built into the ground so fans could enter the upper sections at street level — just southeast of home plate.
In a Wednesday afternoon emailed statement, Johnston said the diocese only just learned about the plans:
“The diocese and parish have not been involved in the planning prior to today’s announcement. We were made aware of the announcement earlier this week and learned most of the details along with the rest of the community.”
Our Lady of Sorrows church and the adjacent parish hall sit on almost an acre of land owned by the diocese at the corner of Gillham Road and E. 26th Street. The rectory was not shown in stadium renderings — a diocese spokesperson wrote “we are not aware of any planned impacts to the existing structure of the church or adjacent buildings.”
Currently the structures are surrounded on three sides by Hallmark headquarters parking lots and offices.
The diocese plans to discuss security and parking with the Royals as plans develop, however, according to the statement, “we view this as primarily an enhancement that could attract new people to worship and experience the beauty of our Catholic faith.”
“We have been assured that care will be taken to maintain the character of the neighborhood, including the iconic features of Our Lady of Sorrows’ building and its historic presence in the heart of downtown Kansas City,” according to the statement.
Our Lady of Sorrows currently holds midday services on Wednesdays and Thursdays, in addition to masses on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. In 2025, the Royals played 14 weekend series at home, with the Saturday games starting just after 3 or 6 p.m. and Sunday first pitches scheduled for 1:10 p.m.
Our Lady of Sorrows was originally built in the late 1800s on the site of Union Station, and was moved brick-by-brick to its current site, according to the parish website.
The current church structure opened in 1923, with a 146-foot tall tower and red tile roof. It is located in the Crown Center Historic District.
Above the altar is a crown sculpture surrounded by angels, which a former pastor called, “the first crown at Crown Center.” In a few years, there could be even more.
This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 3:47 PM.
