KANSAS CITY, Mo.–The kansas city royals Kauffman is moving from its longtime home at Stadium to the downtown Crown Center area, partnering with Hallmark Cards on a $3 billion project that includes a mixed-use development with a new ballpark as the centerpiece.
While the final master plan is not complete yet, Royals owner John Sherman said a $1.9 billion stadium will be built in the middle of Crown Center next year as part of the first phase of the 85-acre project.
Two-thirds of the funding will come from private sources and the remaining one-third will come from public partners, including money earmarked by the state for stadium projects.
“This is a partnership between two valuable institutions in Kansas City,” Sherman said. “We are committed to creating a vision that respects our history, the rich past of both organizations, while simultaneously reimagining what our future can be.”
A hallmark day for our organization, our city and our community. pic.twitter.com/e2iNtDq8dG
– Kansas City Royals (@Royals) 22 April 2026
The announcement came about a week after Kansas City officials passed an ordinance authorizing City Manager Mario Vasquez to negotiate a $600 million deal to help relocate the Royals to the city. Most believed the stadium would be at Washington Square Park, next to Union Station, but instead it would be located just south of it, with the park being shown in development.
Hallmark intends to build a new headquarters in the area, connected by a streetcar to the Power & Light District, with the T-Mobile Center serving as its anchor. That part of downtown Kansas City beyond the outfield fence will provide the backdrop.
By moving downtown, the Royals would move from the bottom 10 to the top 10 in terms of walkability among Major League Baseball stadiums. Officials noted the availability of public parking already in the area and convenient traffic flow from nearby highways.
Missouri’s contribution comes from a law enacted last year that authorized bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums in the state, as well as tax credits of up to $50 million for each stadium and unspecified assistance from local governments.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe said, “We think this is a great investment for our Missouri taxpayers, as it does not impact existing programs.” “The impact of this facility will be truly far-reaching in rural Missouri and other parts of the state.”
The Royals have insisted that they will leave Kauffman Stadium when their lease at the Truman Sports Complex expires in 2031, and Sherman intended to build a downtown ballpark as its replacement since purchasing the club in 2019.
Yet there were plenty of flaws leading up to Wednesday’s announcement.
The biggest hurdle came in April 2024, when the N.F.L. kansas city chiefs Joined the Royals in planning to renovate Arrowhead Stadium and replace Kauffman Stadium. The plan hinged on expanding the sales tax that was being used to pay for stadium maintenance, and Jackson County, Missouri voters rejected the proposal by an overwhelming majority, forcing the franchise to go its own way.
The legislature in neighboring Kansas aggressively pursued the Chiefs, pledging last December to issue $2.4 billion in bonds to cover 60% of the cost of a new $3 billion domed stadium in Kansas City, Kansas. The NFL franchise ultimately decided to move across the state line, where it would also build a new training facility in the nearby suburb of Olathe, Kansas.
Kansas officials also pursued the Royals for a time, but their interest in an MLB franchise had always been low.
The Royals had been considering a number of options in recent months. But they ultimately rejected an option in the suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, and allowed the deadline to settle for a site north of downtown and across the Missouri River in Clay County, Missouri.
Economists have long concluded that subsidizing stadiums is not worth the cost to communities because these venues draw economic activity away from other parts of the region rather than expanding the overall economy. Yet states and cities continue to provide funding to renovate or build new stadiums – 49 of the 60 used by MLB or NFL teams are publicly owned or located on public land.
One of the stadiums Sherman cited as an example of what is possible in Kansas City is Truist Park in Atlanta.
The stadium was a public-private partnership in which the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority issued up to $397 million in bonds, the county raised millions of dollars from transportation taxes and businesses added millions in cash. The Braves contributed the remaining funds for the park and The Battery, a mixed-use development with a total cost of more than $1.1 billion.
Sherman said, “Major League Baseball has many great ballpark neighborhoods, but this is a larger project with more land in the heart of the city and downtown. We’re bringing a modern, state-of-the-art ballpark experience to our fans that is closer to our public transportation and where more people work and live.”
