Kansas City Royals narrowing down location for new $2 billion ballpark

Much has been made in MLB about the future of the Oakland A’s and Tampa Bay Rays as they look for new stadiums. However, they’re not alone, as the Kansas City Royals are also seeking a new stadium for their future.

The Royals are now narrowing down a location to replace Kauffman Stadium, which Kansas City has called home since 1973.

There are two possible locations for the new stadium. The first is The East Village, which is near downtown Kansas City. The second would be a North Kansas City site, which is in Clay County, according to Front Office Sports. Whatever the site, the team won’t be moving from Kansas City, the ways the A’s are looking to move from Oakland to build their new stadium.

The Kansas City Royals have narrowed the finalists for a $2 billion ballpark site down to two locations:

▪️ The East Village near downtown
▪️ A North Kansas City site in Clay County

Owner John Sherman says the team hopes to select a site this summer and play there by 2027-2028. pic.twitter.com/1PPorrW17K

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 29, 2023

According to team owner John Sherman, the team is hoping to have the new site selected at some point this summer. Then, once everything is established construction will begin and the Royals will hope to play at the new location by the 2027 or 2028 season.

Reportedly, the new ballpark will cost in the range of $2 billion. Roughly $350 million will come from public funds, with ownership paying the rest.

ESPN reported that the downtown location is the preferred location for the team. There, it would be the key piece of a redevelopment project within the city of Kansas City. That location would also keep the Royals in Jackson County, where Kauffman Stadium is located. However, the two locations themselves aren’t particularly close.

We’ve always said ‘downtown or near downtown,'” Sherman said. “It’s a highly motivated and creative bunch [in Clay County], but we’ve been partners with Jackson County and in Kansas City for 52 years. We value that relationship. We want them to give us their best shot, and we’re going to give them our best shot to do it there. But I think we should be clear that there is certainly an alternative to that area.”

This decision comes because the franchise has decided that it’s no longer feasible to play in and repair Kauffman Stadium.

The Kansas City scoreboard was smoking after being hit by a ball

One thing Kauffman Stadium has been known for is its massive scoreboard. However, even that is showing its age in 2023. Earlier this season, when Edward Oliveras hit a home run off the scoreboard, it started to smoke.

That's not KC BBQ smoke in the air.

Edward Olivares hit this ball so hard, the scoreboard started smoking. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Kx1fuiioew

— Cut4 (@Cut4) May 28, 2023

That can’t be a small problem to fix for the maintenance department at Kauffman Stadium. However, you probably don’t want to be in a stadium where things start smoking when they get hit by a ball. At least, that’s probably not where you want to be playing long-term.

So, maybe it’s a good thing the Kansas City Royals are building a new home.