KANSAS CITY – The Royals have begun exploring options for a downtown Kansas City dance park, CEO / President John Sherman revealed Tuesday.
One such option is downtown instead of Jackson County, where Kauffman Stadium is currently located in the Truman Sports Complex. The Royals share a parking lot with GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, where the Kansas City Chiefs play.
“We’re going through an internal process to help us evaluate our choices of where we play,” Sherman said. “One of those options is to play baseball in the center. We are beginning to receive more feedback from the community. We look forward to more. But wherever we play, it will meet those criteria. And he has to do great things for Kansas City. “
Kauffman Stadium opened as Royals Stadium in 1973. Earlier, the Royals debuted as an expansion franchise in 69 and played their first four seasons at the Municipal Stadium, near downtown.
This idea of a downtown dance center is not new and has been assumed since Sherman and his group of investors bought the equipment in 2019 that they would explore this idea, but it will take time. The Royals ’current lease at Kauffman Stadium has increased in 2031.
“Since the day we acquired the franchise, trust me, we’ve had a revolving door with people who bring us a lot of ideas, some of which have been on the shelf for a long time,” Sherman said. “And we spent our time listening. We have also thought about the future from where we play. I would just say we are in a good place here at the Truman Sports Complex. Our lease increases at the end of the decade. But we need to start thinking about our plans for a stadium over the next five to ten years. “
Sherman listed several criteria he takes into account when discussing a new stadium and location.
“Whenever we play, the criterion will be that the process produces a significant impact on the community that is real and measurable,” Sherman said. “It will translate into economic growth and economic activity that benefits this region, also in a real and measurable way. And I think about quality of life. … I think the other criterion is that we need to have a positive impact on the quality of life of our Kansas City citizens, with a particular focus on those underrepresented parts of our community. “
Sherman said he expects taxpayers to be involved in funding a new stadium. In 2006, Jackson County voters passed a 0.375 percent sales tax to improve the resort’s two stadiums. As part of the reforms, the Royals and Chiefs extended their leases until 2031.
“This was a public-private partnership between Jackson County taxpayers and the Royals on our part and certainly the Chiefs on their part,” Sherman said. “I would anticipate that again it would be a public-private partnership. As it is structured, I think it is part of what we will discover in our process.”
Ongoing discussions and decisions will lead to a long process, but making it public is an important step. And one that Sherman wouldn’t take if he didn’t think it could lead to change.
“Frankly, it’s hard not to make it public with that,” Sherman said. “They ask me literally everywhere I go, even more so than when Bobby Witt Jr. will come to the Major League team.
“We want to be transparent about how we’re thinking, start this discussion and start receiving feedback from various groups in the community, about how they feel about the concept and … if we can do it [the criteria] working, and mathematics works, is certainly a possibility for the future ”.