Royals Chairman & CEO John Sherman Announces Plans For Team To Leave Kauffman Stadium

The Kansas City Royals announced Tuesday afternoon via an open letter that the team intends to move out of Kauffman Stadium at the end of the teams lease in 2031. Please read the full open letter below.

To our dedicated Royals fans and the Kansas City community:

I am reaching out to you on two fronts. First, I want to thank you for your support this past season. While we were not satisfied with our results on the field, the future of our baseball club under the leadership of J.J. Picollo and new manager Matt Quatraro holds great promise. Our objective is to return to form and compete for a championship on behalf of the great fans of Kansas City.

Second, as we look to the future, I want to share with you our perspective on Kauffman Stadium, our treasured home for the last half century. We have enjoyed many exciting moments together at the Truman Sports Complex over the years. In the spirit of Ewing Kauffman, our current mission is to look ahead to ensure that Major League Baseball and the Kansas City Royals will thrive in this region for decades to come.

Following Mr. K’s original vision for the franchise, we also want to ensure that we have a world-class ballpark that stays competitive with our peers nationwide and best serves our community to the fullest. Kansas City is evolving into a leading sports destination – demonstrated by the NFL Draft, the KC Current’s new stadium, the World Cup – and much more yet ahead. These developments, along with a new KCI airport terminal, are transforming our region.

As you may already know, it’s become challenging to maintain The K. When its current lease with Jackson County concludes at the end of this decade, it will be 60 years old. The renovations required at The K to achieve our objectives would cost as much or more than the price tag to develop a new ballpark. A new home would be a far better investment, both for local taxpayer dollars already supporting our facility, and for the Kansas City community.

A year ago, we announced that we were undertaking a diligent, deliberate, and transparent process to explore the possibility of a new ballpark district. We said we would look at various locations across the city that will allow for residential, commercial, and community components. We are excited to now share that we have several leading locations under close consideration, both in downtown Kansas City and close to it.

Each site offers unique opportunities. We look forward to seeking input from the public over the coming months about our vision to best serve our residents and build on the momentum our city is experiencing. To accomplish this move, our plans will be contingent on continuing our public-private partnership and investment with multiple local jurisdictions and the State of Missouri.

I’d like to share our latest thinking and criteria as we continue our exploration with you:

• Wherever we play baseball, we will seek out efforts that result in real and measurable 1) community impact, 2) economic growth, and 3) an enhanced quality of life for the citizens of our region, with emphasis on historically under-represented members of our community.
• Our vision is to not just build a facility that does justice to the spirit of The K. We want to construct a world-class experience – a new ballpark district and all that comes with it – one that is woven into the fabric of our city, can host events and concerts, and boosts our local economy. We also envision incorporating our Kansas City fountains, the Royals’ crown and our team’s rich traditions and history in a new ballpark district.
• The proposed ballpark district would become a new home for Royals fans far and wide – both inside a state-of-the-art ballpark and in the revitalized surrounding area. We will marry the traditions of The K with a better experience for our fans.
• With a mixture of public and private investment, including our own intention to invest hundreds of millions of dollars directly into the ballpark and the ballpark district, the long-term vision remains a work-in-progress. We envision local restaurants and shops, office spaces, hotels, and a variety of housing opportunities accessible for Kansas Citians from all walks of life. Affordable housing options will be important to our efforts. We would also work closely with our local transportation leaders to ensure public transportation options accommodate a new ballpark district.
• Going forward with this process would result in the largest public-private development project in Kansas City history, expected to be $2 billion as currently envisioned. Construction of this new ballpark district could create 20,000 jobs, $1.4 billion in labor income, and an estimated $2.8 billion in total economic output, as well as spur additional adjacent investment.
• We anticipate that the inaugural year of the new ballpark will drive approximately $185 million more in regional economic output than The K does today. Greater regional visitation will sustain more than 600 new jobs, and spending at the new ballpark district and across the region will drive more than $60 million in new tax revenue over the first decade.
• A new ballpark can also spur meaningful new investment around it. New development around the ballpark could attract 2,200 onsite jobs, with employment representing $200 million in annual labor income and more than $500 million in annual economic output.

Underpinning all our planning are two guiding principles. First, we would not ask Jackson County citizens to contribute any more tax dollars than you already do today. Second, we want to take these steps together, with your input and engagement, as a community.

Please know that any final decisions will be made with broad community input, and in the best interests of our fans, the Royals’ long-term future, and our Greater Kansas City community.

In the next several months, to “keep the line moving,” we will 1) embark on a listening tour throughout our region to discuss our plan, our vision and the economic benefits with our community, partners and political leaders, and 2) begin in earnest a discussion with Local, State, and Federal officials regarding possible additional sources of funds to help make this project a reality.