KC Downtown Baseball

[nebugeater]

so if that were to hold that is about an 8,000 seat reduction from where they are at now.

also, only 6K more than Omaha

[ScrattyB]

so if that were to hold that is about an 8,000 seat reduction from where they are at now.

also, only 6K more than Omaha

Not sure if you follow much American sports, but many teams are downsizing the stadiums and adding new fan experiences.

https://www.axios.com/nfl-mlb-sports-st ... 2f94d.html
https://thehustle.co/sports-stadiums-do ... -football/
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm ... story.html
https://www.tampabay.com/blogs/rays/201 ... xperience/
http://www.thepostgame.com/travelers-ch ... rs-detroit

[nebugeater]

so if that were to hold that is about an 8,000 seat reduction from where they are at now.

also, only 6K more than Omaha

Not sure if you follow much American sports, but many teams are downsizing the stadiums and adding new fan experiences.

https://www.axios.com/nfl-mlb-sports-st ... 2f94d.html
https://thehustle.co/sports-stadiums-do ... -football/
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm ... story.html
https://www.tampabay.com/blogs/rays/201 ... xperience/
http://www.thepostgame.com/travelers-ch ... rs-detroit

I get that 100% Just sharing the numbers for anyone that was interested and didn't look it up.

[strangerthings]

so if that were to hold that is about an 8,000 seat reduction from where they are at now.

also, only 6K more than Omaha

Not sure if you follow much American sports, but many teams are downsizing the stadiums and adding new fan experiences.

https://www.axios.com/nfl-mlb-sports-st ... 2f94d.html
https://thehustle.co/sports-stadiums-do ... -football/
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm ... story.html
https://www.tampabay.com/blogs/rays/201 ... xperience/
http://www.thepostgame.com/travelers-ch ... rs-detroit

I get that 100% Just sharing the numbers for anyone that was interested and didn't look it up.

That is an interesting stat. thanks for sharing

[Brad]

New Atlanta Ballpark Considered Model for Royals Coming Downtown

https://cityscenekc.com/new-atlanta-bal ... -downtown/

If you’re curious about the game plan for a potential Royals downtown ballpark, the new home of the Atlanta Braves may offer some inside baseball.

Truist Field and its adjoining “The Battery Atlanta” mixed-use development were cited several times by experts discussing the “Future of Sports Facilities” at an event last week sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and Urban Land Institute.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Truist Field might be a good example if they were looking to build in the suburbs, but a bad example for locating downtown. The Battery, of whatever it's called, is likely popular with suburbanites who like downtown vibes but don't want to go to Atlanta's actual downtown for some reason (traffic, (perceived) crime, distance, "nowhere to park," whatever). KC should be looking at Colorado, St. Louis, or Minnesota instead and how they've integrated new stadiums into their similarly sized downtowns.

The Royals don't have the pedigree for an entertainment district that's going to draw in sports tourists year round, at least not enough to function simultaneously with Power & Light. If they really really must go downtown, find some surface lots near Power and Light, place the stadium there, and call it good..

[buildomaha]

https://youtu.be/aXQx1_Zi1BA

[strangerthings]

Rumored announcement before Thanksgiving

[Louie]

Does anyone have an idea of where this would be situated?

[strangerthings]

Does anyone have an idea of where this would be situated?

Crossroads or East Village

[strangerthings]

[Linkin5]

That looks incredible hopefully they can get through all the hurdles and get it built.

[Coyote]

I would be an even better fan if they built this stadium downtown, where are they thinking to put this?

[strangerthings]

I would be an even better fan if they built this stadium downtown, where are they thinking to put this?

East village area of the central business district.

[Coyote]

Royals to leave Kauffman Stadium, plan for $2B stadium district in Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Royals owner John Sherman released a letter Tuesday announcing the team is planning to leave Kauffman Stadium and start exploration for a final location for a $2 billion stadium and entertainment district.

[Coyote]

Kansas City Royals announce plans for new ballpark district

Kansas City Royals owner John Sherman released a letter Tuesday announcing the team is planning to leave Kauffman Stadium and start exploration for a final location for a $2 billion stadium plan.

[Greg S]

The 2 billion is not just for the stadium but includes all the development around it as well.

Greg

[Greg S]

Good read:

https://cityscenekc.com/nationally-reno ... ZXLtIrTRP8

[ita]

Could we get this development, sans the pro baseball stadium at Lots B and A, and throw in Lot D for good luck, downtown? Good for KC though and thanks for sharing!

[Brad]

Can't believe they won't replicate that Crown scoreboard at the new stadium? At least they have some fountains out there again.

[Bobcat]

Could we get this development, sans the pro baseball stadium at Lots B and A, and throw in Lot D for good luck, downtown? Good for KC though and thanks for sharing!

Storm Chasers should be playing in TD Ameritrade resulting in 4,000 plus fans coming downtown each game. Lots B and A would definitely be developed by now. Effort back in the day was paltry at best.

[skinzfan23]

Could we get this development, sans the pro baseball stadium at Lots B and A, and throw in Lot D for good luck, downtown? Good for KC though and thanks for sharing!

Storm Chasers should be playing in TD Ameritrade resulting in 4,000 plus fans coming downtown each game. Lots B and A would definitely be developed by now. Effort back in the day was paltry at best.

That would not be ideal at all. Werner Park is great for the storm chasers. Schwab would feel very empty just like Rosenblatt did all the time.

[NEDodger]

Could we get this development, sans the pro baseball stadium at Lots B and A, and throw in Lot D for good luck, downtown? Good for KC though and thanks for sharing!

Storm Chasers should be playing in TD Ameritrade resulting in 4,000 plus fans coming downtown each game. Lots B and A would definitely be developed by now. Effort back in the day was paltry at best.

That would not be ideal at all. Werner Park is great for the storm chasers. Schwab would feel very empty just like Rosenblatt did all the time.

This. The Stormchasers did not want to play in a place that felt empty.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Hot take but I think they should stay at Kauffman. Although it's in the middle of nowhere, floating in a sea of surface lots, I like how Kauffman looks and feels.

[Busguy2010]

Hot take but I think they should stay at Kauffman. Although it's in the middle of nowhere, floating in a sea of surface lots, I like how Kauffman looks and feels.

I'm leaning that way too. This Downtown stadium looks nice, but will it really work any better, and at what cost? And Kauffman and Arrowhead are both well in view of Downtown. They're really not far away. I know many of us have tailgated at the complex, and there's no way that can happen Downtown. It'll totally kill the gameday ambiance.

[Greg S]

Could we get this development, sans the pro baseball stadium at Lots B and A, and throw in Lot D for good luck, downtown? Good for KC though and thanks for sharing!

Storm Chasers should be playing in TD Ameritrade resulting in 4,000 plus fans coming downtown each game. Lots B and A would definitely be developed by now. Effort back in the day was paltry at best.

That would not be ideal at all. Werner Park is great for the storm chasers. Schwab would feel very empty just like Rosenblatt did all the time.

This. The Stormchasers did not want to play in a place that felt empty.

TD Ameritrade just wasn't built for or would work for minor league baseball. My company has club seats for the CWS and Creighton baseball. It's great for the CWS but awful for Creighton. Would love to see them eventually build a stadium on or adjacent to campus similar to what UNO has.

Greg

[Louie]

Could we get this development, sans the pro baseball stadium at Lots B and A, and throw in Lot D for good luck, downtown? Good for KC though and thanks for sharing!

Storm Chasers should be playing in TD Ameritrade resulting in 4,000 plus fans coming downtown each game. Lots B and A would definitely be developed by now. Effort back in the day was paltry at best.

That would not be ideal at all. Werner Park is great for the storm chasers. Schwab would feel very empty just like Rosenblatt did all the time.

This. The Stormchasers did not want to play in a place that felt empty.

TD Ameritrade just wasn't built for or would work for minor league baseball. My company has club seats for the CWS and Creighton baseball. It's great for the CWS but awful for Creighton. Would love to see them eventually build a stadium on or adjacent to campus similar to what UNO has.

Greg

Not saying this as rude, but is another downtown baseball stadium really a good idea?

[Greg S]

Could we get this development, sans the pro baseball stadium at Lots B and A, and throw in Lot D for good luck, downtown? Good for KC though and thanks for sharing!

Storm Chasers should be playing in TD Ameritrade resulting in 4,000 plus fans coming downtown each game. Lots B and A would definitely be developed by now. Effort back in the day was paltry at best.

That would not be ideal at all. Werner Park is great for the storm chasers. Schwab would feel very empty just like Rosenblatt did all the time.

This. The Stormchasers did not want to play in a place that felt empty.

TD Ameritrade just wasn't built for or would work for minor league baseball. My company has club seats for the CWS and Creighton baseball. It's great for the CWS but awful for Creighton. Would love to see them eventually build a stadium on or adjacent to campus similar to what UNO has.

Greg

Not saying this as rude, but is another downtown baseball stadium really a good idea?

I think it would be in Creighton’s best interest. Their current home is way too big, has horrible atmosphere and they just will never grow into it (no college baseball or even minor league team would).

If the plan for Union Omaha comes to fruition we will have 2 downtown soccer stadiums…..

[SunMan]

Could we get this development, sans the pro baseball stadium at Lots B and A, and throw in Lot D for good luck, downtown? Good for KC though and thanks for sharing!

Storm Chasers should be playing in TD Ameritrade resulting in 4,000 plus fans coming downtown each game. Lots B and A would definitely be developed by now. Effort back in the day was paltry at best.

That would not be ideal at all. Werner Park is great for the storm chasers. Schwab would feel very empty just like Rosenblatt did all the time.

This. The Stormchasers did not want to play in a place that felt empty.

The Storm Chasers would not have been able to share in parking revenue or concessions. Deal breaker right there. Werner Park is an ideal place for minor league ball.

[Bobcat]

Could we get this development, sans the pro baseball stadium at Lots B and A, and throw in Lot D for good luck, downtown? Good for KC though and thanks for sharing!

Storm Chasers should be playing in TD Ameritrade resulting in 4,000 plus fans coming downtown each game. Lots B and A would definitely be developed by now. Effort back in the day was paltry at best.

That would not be ideal at all. Werner Park is great for the storm chasers. Schwab would feel very empty just like Rosenblatt did all the time.

This. The Stormchasers did not want to play in a place that felt empty.

The Storm Chasers would not have been able to share in parking revenue or concessions. Deal breaker right there. Werner Park is an ideal place for minor league ball.

True. MECA definitely has a death grip on all land they can control. At the time of negotiation, Ms. Werner was on the Board of MECA. Altruistically hoping something creative (adjustable size stadium?) could have been worked out bringing potentially 400,000 additional people each year to north downtown.

[Greg S]

Yeah if you remember the initial plan was for removable seats so stadium could accommodate both AAA and the CWS. And the prices tag was supposed to be $50 million for that. The NCAA shot that plan down, got involved and the price of the stadium jumped to I believe $126 million.

Initially MECA fought the stadium as well. Roger Dixon compared it to somebody wanting to build a gas station next door to your house. Once they gave control to MECA, suddenly Dixon got on board.....


Greg

[Coyote]

Kansas City Royals confirm new stadium plans

The Kansas City Royals confirmed they plan to the move to a baseball stadium in downtown or somewhere near it, CEO John Sherman said.

[jag42]

Nothing official, just a proposal/rendering across from the T-Mobile Center:

https://www.kctv5.com/2023/03/29/new-ba ... enderings/

[NEDodger]

I was down here with a buddy a few weeks ago and we got to talking about Kauffman's unfortunate eventual demise (I get the location is awful but it's a fantastic stadium). What is the intent for the land once it's gone - develop hotels/residences/retail for Arrowhead? It's always been a bit odd that there's such a lack of hotels around there.

[Cermak]

The Royals are a weak MLB franchise, they don't draw well and haven't for years. At one time the team was popular but those days are long gone. The current stadium is sufficient, I would be hesitant to move downtown because there's no guarantee it will attract anymore fans than what Kauffman is currently getting . Unfortunately it's a franchise that isn't very popular anymore. The only fix is probably winning, not a new stadium.

[strangerthings]

I was down here with a buddy a few weeks ago and we got to talking about Kauffman's unfortunate eventual demise (I get the location is awful but it's a fantastic stadium). What is the intent for the land once it's gone - develop hotels/residences/retail for Arrowhead? It's always been a bit odd that there's such a lack of hotels around there.

No official plans. Some say new arrowhead or some chiefs branded development. No official plans at this time.

[Greg S]

[damonhynes]

Nothing official, just a proposal/rendering across from the T-Mobile Center:

https://www.kctv5.com/2023/03/29/new-ba ... enderings/

What no one seems to get is that just because there's an arena downtown that sells out for 100 events a year doesn't necessarily mean a ballpark catty-corner will be filled.

Sure, the Royals' owners might break the bank, incur the luxury tax, and make the World Series. But that isn't sustainable--MLB doesn't want it to be. No team will draw 3 million in attendance with an 81-81 team.

Compare/contrast to T-Mobile. 20K will come downtown for Chesney. Three days later, 20K for Bon Jovi. Three days later, MMA. Then UFC. Then PBR. But, none of these fanbases will come down 81 times a year, whether there's a sexy trolley and fashionable brewpubs or not.

The solution is for the Royals to go to their fanbase, and it sure isn't Independence/Raytown. This means that it isn't downtown KC, either. Go where the money is--Olathe/OP. Atlanta figured that out, and so did the Texas Rangers.

[Greg S]

Nothing official, just a proposal/rendering across from the T-Mobile Center:

https://www.kctv5.com/2023/03/29/new-ba ... enderings/

What no one seems to get is that just because there's an arena downtown that sells out for 100 events a year doesn't necessarily mean a ballpark catty-corner will be filled.

Sure, the Royals' owners might break the bank, incur the luxury tax, and make the World Series. But that isn't sustainable--MLB doesn't want it to be. No team will draw 3 million in attendance with an 81-81 team.

Compare/contrast to T-Mobile. 20K will come downtown for Chesney. Three days later, 20K for Bon Jovi. Three days later, MMA. Then UFC. Then PBR. But, none of these fanbases will come down 81 times a year, whether there's a sexy trolley and fashionable brewpubs or not.

The solution is for the Royals to go to their fanbase, and it sure isn't Independence/Raytown. This means that it isn't downtown KC, either. Go where the money is--Olathe/OP. Atlanta figured that out, and so did the Texas Rangers.

Yeah I am not sure anyone wants them to go to OP. You have Royals fans divided into 2 parts. Those than absolutely want them to stay at TSC and those that want a downtown park, I absolutely love the K, but am hopping they end up downtown. That's where the owner and the mayor wants, along with business leaders so I think that's where they end up. The Chiefs want to develop more at TSC so they are behind the Royals move as well (the 2 teams work well together and have been in talks behind the scenes).

The only mention of a team moving to Kansas, was the Chiefs and that was to the Legends area. The Chiefs have made it clear, that's not their preference. They are hoping to do an extensive renovation to Arrowhead, second choice is to build new at TSC, and only if those 2 can't get worked out would they look at Kansas.

Greg

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Maybe moving to the fans makes sense in congested cities like Atlanta and Dallas, but I don't think that's a real problem in KC. I doubt having the team 20 minutes closer to wealthier fans is going to make or break the Royals.

I'd have to imagine going downtown is part of a vibe the team is going for. If they wanted to stay in a suburban environment I'm not sure it makes sense to uproot from where they are now even if maintenance costs supposedly make a new stadium financially attractive. I'd think it also helps that they wouldn't have to worry about managing their own parking anymore, but I could be wrong.

BTW: that highway cap is quite nice and will really help downtown KC mitigate the barrier between downtown and the Crossroads area.