Kansas City is putting $600 million on the table to help finance a new Royals ballpark and team offices in the Crown Center area, a proposal that would move the long-discussed project into a much more concrete phase.
The city’s proposed contribution includes $90 million for infrastructure, with the remainder coming from “legally available” sources such as bonds and grants. The bonds would be paid back through revenue tied to the project, including economic activity taxes and a special 1% sales tax in the district.
Those figures appear in a funding agreement set to go before the city’s Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee on Tuesday. The Royals want to build a $1.9 billion stadium that would sit at the center of a $3 billion entertainment district in a reworked Crown Center.
This is the first time the city’s full financial role has been laid out publicly in connection with a downtown stadium site. If the deal advances, it would amount to a major green light for a project the Royals have been chasing for years.
The committee is also scheduled to examine other agreements tied to the stadium plan, including a lease and a community impact agreement.
Under the proposal, total public support would reach $1.14 billion. After the city’s $600 million contribution, the rest would come from the state through a mix that includes tax credits and the Show-Me Sports Act program approved last year.
The Royals would cover the remaining $760 million of the projected cost with private money, according to the agreement. The team would also be responsible for extra costs if the project ends up exceeding the $1.9 billion estimate.
The city’s proposal lines up with the ceiling it already set in April, when the City Council passed an ordinance telling City Manager Mario Vasquez to negotiate a bond financing plan of up to $600 million for the project.
A separate lease proposal says the city would own the stadium property and rent it to the Royals for 30 years. That lease is expected to start Feb. 1, 2031.
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The celebration fits neatly into a three-game series that will also feature Major League Baseballs Players Weekend, giving Kansas City players a chance to break out specially designed bats and cleats. It is the kind of homestand that mixes nostalgia with a bit of personality, and for Royals fans, Bretts legacy remains one of the surest ways to make an ordinary August weekend feel a little more connected to the clubs past. [Read more 🡒]