The Kansas City Royals are headed downtown.
The Royals unveiled plans Tuesday to build a new ballpark in the middle of downtown Kansas City. The $2 billion-plus stadium is set to be built just blocks away from the T-Mobile Center and the Power & Light District in “the heart of Kansas City.”
The goal is for the stadium, which will seat about 34,000 fans, to be ready in time for the 2028 season. Plans are still being finalized, but the team released renderings Tuesday that include fountains in center field, a pedestrian bridge that connects the stadium to T-Mobile Center and more.
“We’re the second-smallest city with both an NFL franchise and Major League Baseball club, and we want to sustain ourselves as a major league city,” Royals owner John Sherman said, via ESPN. “We want these franchises to thrive here for another 50 years.”
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is fresh off his win in Super Bowl LVIII and is also a minority owner of the Royals, loved the plans.
The Royals currently play at Kauffman Stadium, which sits adjacent to Arrowhead Stadium about 10 miles southeast of downtown. The Royals moved to Kauffman in 1973 and renovated it most recently in 2012. The franchise tried to announce two other locations for a new stadium last fall but neither made it very far.
The Royals plan to invest more than $1 billion in private funding for the new stadium.
“I know I’m biased here,” Sherman said, “but between what the Chiefs can do out here with an expanded tailgate experience, and what we do down there, we will have two of the best pregame and postgame experiences in all of sports.”
The Royals went 56-106 last season. They haven’t been to the playoffs since they won the World Series in 2015, which was also the last time they had a winning record. The Royals last hosted MLB’s All-Star Game in 2012. The city has since opened a new airport, is set to open a new stadium for the NWSL’s Kansas City Current and was awarded six matches for the 2026 World Cup.
The Royals will open their season, the second under manager Matt Quatraro, on March 28 against the Minnesota Twins.
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