The Kansas City City Council approved a $600 million funding commitment on Thursday for a downtown ballpark, moving the Royals’ stadium plan another step forward.
More details on the financing are expected to be released tomorrow before the TIF Commission meets, according to officials. After that, the City Council is expected to vote on creating a TIF district and formally issuing bonds for the stadium.
There’s still another key vote coming in September, when the council is expected to consider a related rezoning plan. That plan would set flexible standards for future redevelopment in Crown Center.
The Royals are pushing for a $1.9 billion new stadium that would serve as the centerpiece of a $3 billion entertainment district in the city’s urban core. Under the current plan, the team says it will privately cover $760 million of the project. City officials and the Royals also intend to seek state funding that could add roughly $540 million more.
City staff said construction could get underway early next year, with the stadium opening in time for the 2030 baseball season.
Not everyone sees the pace of the deal the same way. Kansas City Star columnist David Hudnall said the process is moving too fast, warning that if the projections miss, the city is on the hook.
The Royals are not guaranteeing the bonds - Kansas City is. If the taxes set aside for the stadium come up short, the city still has to pay.
Hudnall pointed to the Power & Light District as the cautionary example, noting that Kansas City has spent roughly $10 million a year on average since 2006 covering debt payments that district revenues could not handle. If that pattern repeats here, he wrote, the money would have to come from somewhere else in the city budget, meaning less for roads, parks, trash pickup, public safety, or other basic services.
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