Kansas City’s push for a new Royals stadium at Crown Center moved another step forward Tuesday, with a city committee backing three key measures tied to the project.
The recommendations include rezoning roughly 68 acres south of Pershing Road, west of Gillham Road, north of E. 27th Street and east of Main Street. The committee also backed recommendations from the Tax Increment Financing Commission to create a new stadium impact area policy.
On top of that, the committee recommended issuing about $600 million in bonds to cover the city’s share of the $1.9 billion stadium. The Royals’ plans also call for a separate billion-dollar mixed-use development and a reimagined Crown Center with Hallmark Cards, privately funded.
“This is a long investment, a large investment, the stakes are very high,” Councilman Crispin Rea said during Tuesday’s committee meeting.
The bond piece is the one carrying the biggest financial weight. Before the city signs off on the $600 million borrowing through the Missouri Development Finance Board, officials want confidence that tax revenue over the next 30 years will be enough to repay nearly $1.4 billion in debt service.
That figure is the heart of Kansas City’s financing plan: borrow now, pay it back over decades, and end up owing more than twice the original amount once principal and interest are counted. The Hunden analysis says the project will generate just enough tax revenue to cover that total, or about $1.4 billion.
But there’s already skepticism around that conclusion. Kansas City had settled on the $600 million commitment before the analysis was complete, and the finished study landed with projections that match the borrowing costs almost exactly. David Hudnall argues that should make citizens wary of the numbers behind the deal, asking whether city leaders really found the right amount months in advance or whether the projections were pushed until they made the project work.
Elsewhere in the Royals orbit, there’s also attention on what happens after the club eventually leaves Kauffman Stadium. Jackson County has floated ideas for the Truman Sports Complex once the Chiefs and Royals are gone.
And in a reminder of the franchise’s history, Kansas City is also marking 20 years since Buck O’Neil’s death. The Hall of Famer’s influence still shows up around town, including a mural at 3rd and Broadway created by Phil Shafer of Sike Style to honor O’Neil’s gift for storytelling.
“He had a good sense of humor. He was really all about championing other people,” Shafer said.
“He was a really good connector that way. He wanted people to feel like they could come and talk to him, and he could tell his stories to them.”
Nelson said O’Neil made everyone feel at home.
The Royals also kept O’Neil’s seat at Kauffman Stadium after he worked for the franchise as a scout.
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