The Royals are looking north — again.
Talks of North Kansas City’s emergence as a potential home for the team’s next chapter are stirring hopes, doubts and lots of chatter among fans on that side of the Missouri River.
The Royals have talked with the Merriman family, who control a site encompassing nearly 100 acres in North Kansas City south of Armour Road, sources told The Star last month. But the degree to which the team is interested in the location isn’t yet known.
At the same time, the Missouri Senate is advancing legislation for Clay County to establish a sports complex authority similar to the one that currently manages the Truman Sports Complex in Jackson County, paving the way for a potential Royals stadium in the Northland.
The momentum has fans and local leaders buzzing with excitement — and plenty of questions.
Officials open but not involved
While sources have told The Star that a stadium north of the river is back in the conversation, officials say they haven’t been approached by the team or developers, nor heard anything about a specific plan.
The new mayor of North Kansas City, Jesse Smith, said he’s just now catching up to speed after winning last month’s election.
“People enjoy the small-time feel of North Kansas City, and I want to respect that while also looking into new opportunities that present themselves,” Smith said.
The Royals announced the North Kansas City site as one of two finalists for their stadium project back in 2023, before they pivoted and put a Jackson County sales tax to help pay for a Crossroads District stadium on the ballot last year.
Smith at the time was a City Council member but said he was still kept in the dark about any details of a potential stadium. He remembers residents asking questions about what the Royals were considering and the city not responding, causing some frustration.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “That was a real tough time.”
Jerry Nolte, the presiding commissioner of Clay County, said the main thing that has been on his radar this time around is the Missouri Senate bill pushing for the county to have a sports complex authority.
“It’s an important building block to be able to continue the process,” Nolte said. “It’s something that we need to have if we’re, if we are to go forward, having that already passed and kind of in the toolbox is, is an advantage.”
However, before he takes a side on the issue, he said, he’d like to crunch some numbers to make sure a stadium is in the best interest of Clay County. It’s not yet clear how the team would seek to pay for a stadium — if they’d look for voters’ support of a sales tax or something else.
“What we have established in Clay County is our ability to deal in a professional way with some of the larger entities,” said Nolte, alluding to some of the challenges that surfaced when the Royals tried to reach a deal with Jackson County last year.
“That puts us in a position regardless of the outcome of this particular transaction that we, I think, have shown that we are, in fact, a reliable and professional partner when it comes to economic development of this scale.”
North Kansas Citians are curious
Craig Koch, 30, and his roommate have lived together in North Kansas City for several years now, and they are huge Royals fans.
Both attend around 10 games each year. He said they love where the stadium is currently located but agree it could use a makeover. Originally from Milwaukee, the roommates have lived in Clay County since they moved to the area in their early 20s.
They’re excited North Kansas City is back in the conversation for a new location. They said that while they have some hesitation about how it would work to have a stadium in the Northland, they aren’t against it.
“Traffic-wise it seems like it’ll be a headache,” Koch said, adding that North Kansas City is too far from downtown to get a city feel.
Ideally, the new stadium would have more amenities than the current one, Koch said. A stadium that comes to mind for him is Target Field in Minneapolis with its diverse food options nearby.
When the Royals selected the North KC site as a finalist nearly two years ago, along with it arrived a proposal for a ballpark district set to include restaurant, hotel and retail space. The Royals have long prioritized a site that would allow for such a district.
“You have to be adaptable and welcoming to all different lifestyles,” Koch said.
Koch said it seems like Kauffman’s aura has dimmed, especially for families that may be coming into town for a ballgame.
“You want that to be a super memorable experience beyond just what the field looks like,” Koch said.
Other residents who spoke with The Star questioned where fans would park or tailgate at a new stadium up north.
Smith, North Kansas City’s new mayor, said this scale of development is something the city has talked about since the 1980s. He’s hoping to address some of residents’ concerns during his time in office.
The co-owners of Callsign Brewery in North Kansas City, Paul and Lisa Gardner, said they are willing to pay the price for a stadium, but they hope they’d get to stick around to benefit from any boom in business.
“We’d love to see a new stadium, and we’d love to see it stay in Missouri,” the couple said.
If a stadium is built in the area, they would expect property taxes to go up because a stadium would increase the property value.
”The concern we have is that the cost will go up before we ever see any return on our business,” they said.
The team’s lease at Kauffman runs through the end of the 2030 season, but for small businesses, five years is long enough to make or break them. Small restaurants and breweries like Callsign have struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown, the Gardners said. Their business isn’t currently in the red, but it is something on their minds.
Regardless of where a new stadium would go, several fans around North Kansas City told The Star that their main goal is to keep the team in Missouri and in the Kansas City metro.
Leave a Reply