Kansas City council sidesteps voters, approves $600M for Royals stadium

Two years after Jackson County voters resoundingly rejected a ballot measure that would have increased sales taxes to fund a new stadium for the Royals, Kansas City’s city council approved $600 million in tax-free bonds for a baseball stadium project that’s expected to receive $1.14 billion in public funds from the city and state of Missouri.

The agreement passed by the city’s finance committee and approved by an 11-2 council vote also stipulates that the Royals “have no obligation to repay or otherwise support payment of” city-backed bonds, leaving the city to cover shortfalls. That’s a key stipulation given the risk involved to the city and the potential for bonds to create a “debt bomb” for municipalities.

The proposed 30-year lease also allows the Royals to seek more public funding for major stadium renovations in the future while paying $1 annually in rent.

Royals owner John Sherman hailed the deal as a landmark public-private investment for Kansas City, saying a stadium “will bring Royals baseball to the center of the city, creating jobs, housing and year-round economic activity, advancing Kansas City’s terrific momentum,” according to KCUR.

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No. 9. Camden Yards, Baltimore: Meet the godfather, with its famous B&O Warehouse. This is the original retro-classic ballpark that not only dramatically influenced the look of new stadiums, but changed the fabric of some major cities. Denver, Cleveland, San Francisco and San Diego followed its lead and built downtown ballparks that completely invigorated growth.

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No. 2. Wrigley Field, Chicago: There’s not a more beautiful sight than walking into the ballpark and taking your first look at that beautiful green grass, the ivy on the walls and the iconic scoreboard in center field. Taking in a Friday afternoon game, hitting Murphy Bleachers afterward, and enjoying the Chicago nightlife is utopia for any baseball fan.

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No. 1 Fenway Park, Boston: No ballpark in America has the romantic feel or the unique quirks of Fenway Park, from the Green Monster to Pesky’s Pole. It’s not a baseball game, but a religious experience watching games at Fenway.

Yet the agreement is far more public than private, with $1.14 billion coming from the city and state – along with bridging shortfalls – and $760 million from the Royals. The stadium project entails rezoning and redeveloping the city’s Crown Center, the longtime headquarters for Hallmark Cards.

Councilmember Johnathan Duncan, one of two dissenting votes, criticized the deal. He called the $55 million community benefits paltry, such as a $5 million donation to the Negro Leagues Hall of Fame and Museum – “We’re talking about a multi-billion dollar deal,” he said – and criticizing his colleagues for capitulating to the Royals.

“It is my sentiment that the negotiations have benefited the Royals and not the residents of Kansas City,” Duncan said, per KCUR. “That we have treated the Royals with kids’ gloves because we’ve been negotiating out of fear rather than courage. The city has all of the leverage.”

A significant number of opponents filled council chambers for Thursday’s vote, with homeowners in the area upset that a baseball stadium may land in their backyard. Workers’ rights advocates also criticized the council for subjugating the will of voters.

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“Constantly moving forward with ordinances without public hearing – it doesn’t look good for that system,” said Benjamin Astudillo of Missouri Workers Power, per KCUR. “It looks corrupt, it looks lobbied and it looks like they’re in the pockets of billionaires instead of being in the pockets of the people that pay their salary.”

Voters in Kansas City and Jackson County made their feelings known in April 2024, voting down by a nearly two-to-one margin a ballot question that would have funded a Royals stadium and improvements to the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium.

“When you side with the people,” housing rights advocate Daj Moreland said then, “you win.”

The Royals and the city didn’t take any chances this time.