Royals seek new stadium: Suburbs, city or downtown? MLB analysis

The Future of Baseball in Kansas City: Where Will the Royals Play?

Kauffman Stadium, an icon in Jackson County, Missouri, remains a landmark place to enjoy baseball. However, the sports landscape is changing, and the Kansas City Royals are considering a significant transformation for their stadium. In 2021, before Bobby Witt Jr. debuted in the Major Leagues, Royals owner John Sherman announced the search for a new venue. The search continues, driven by the need for a model that goes beyond the simple game experience. The goal is to emulate the success of the Truist Park/Battery project in Cobb County, Georgia.

“We are looking for more than a stadium,” said R. Brooks Sherman Jr., president of business operations for the Royals.

R. Brooks Sherman Jr.

This model integrates the stadium with an adjacent “village”, generating additional sources of income. This implies the need for strategic land. Although the Royals have not revealed their definitive location, their aspirations are clear: to create a “live, work, and play” environment. This dynamic is observed in different contexts, from the urban center (San Diego, Denver) to revitalized districts (Washington D.C.) and suburbs (Atlanta). The Royals are evaluating these options, making them a case study for stadium development trends. Author and architecture critic Paul Goldberger wrote that a stadium “evokes the tension between the rural and the urban that has existed throughout American history.” This tension is manifested in the different eras of baseball stadiums, and is now manifesting in Kansas City. Below, we will analyze three models inspired by the Battery project that the Royals are considering.

Model 1: The Suburbs

The Royals’ option: 119th and Nall, Johnson County, Kansas. Sherman’s stadium search initially prioritized an urban approach. However, the Braves’ project challenges that premise. For the first time, a baseball team moved away from the city to build its own “live, work, and play” environment. This puts areas like 119th Street and Nall Avenue in play. This location, which once housed Sprint’s world headquarters, has a transit score of zero. The Royals acquired the mortgage on the property, although they are not yet owners. The location of 119th and Nall is about 19 miles from Kansas City City Hall and 37 miles from Kansas City International Airport. This configuration implies a reliance on the automobile. Kansas City, like many other cities, has a strong dependence on the automobile. “We have to make it easier for people to get in and out,” said Brooks Sherman. “But we also believe that the aspect of arriving early and staying late, with a development surrounding the stadium, will be helpful for that.” According to our urban-centric location metric, Kauffman Stadium ranks 29th among current stadiums. Moving to this even more distant location could relegate the Royals to last place. When teams choose a site, they project the future of cities and how people will move. The options are important, and multimodal transportation is ideal. It’s also crucial that people want to go, not just for baseball. The success of the Battery project is largely based on revenue outside of game days.

“It’s not the 81 days when baseball is played, it’s the 284 days when baseball is not played,” said architect Lamar Wakefield of Nelson Worldwide.

Lamar Wakefield

Any team considering a move to the suburbs should carefully analyze the differences between their market and that of Atlanta. Atlanta has a metropolitan population almost three times larger than that of the Kansas City region. Stadiums adopt the characteristics of the area around them and serve as icons of their cities. The lack of aesthetic association with the city of Atlanta, along with the absence of public transportation, is one of the main criticisms of the Braves project. This is the reason why Goldberger coined the word “Urbanoid” to describe the Truist/Battery project. Teams this model currently works for: Bravos, Rangers. Teams this model could work for: Angels.

Model 2: In the City, but Not Downtown

The Royals’ option: North Kansas City. This model evokes the era of neighborhood parks, which lost popularity with suburban expansion and the dominance of the automobile. North Kansas City, where the Royals have presented a term sheet outlining their needs, would be a return to that era. The potential site is 3.6 miles from Kansas City City Hall, but is in Clay County, not Jackson County. Site renderings highlight the downtown skyline a few miles south. Sports architects are urban planners by nature, so that type of scenario is often seen in their imaginations. “Everyone will be different because a lot depends on the client’s demands,” said Earl Santee, an architect at Populous. The Clay County representation represents a version of North Kansas City that does not currently exist. It is a working-class neighborhood with a population of less than 5,000, according to the 2020 census. There is less industry than before, so there are many post-industrial properties ready for development south, towards downtown. Chappell’s, a Kansas City restaurant and sports museum, would likely benefit from having the Royals as neighbors, but, in turn, the Royals would be opening their own venues. That kind of omnipresence is both the blessing and the curse of having a 21st-century baseball team as a neighbor.

“It’s 81 days and, hopefully, two and a half million fanatics,” said Brooks Sherman about the transformational potential of park development, wherever it goes. “Why not show them the best you’ve got and build around that and turn it into this vibrant environment? Be an asset to the community all year round.”

Brooks Sherman

A positive example of this is Nationals Park and the blocks surrounding it. The North Kansas City site isn’t much to look at now, just empty lots and massive surface parking lots. There are potential problems in the need for significant infrastructure improvements and more transit options. The basic reality is that the arrival of the Royals would transform the character of the area. Baseball can certainly work in post-industrial neighborhoods like this, but the citizens must agree. The Royals could decide they want North Kansas City, but the people there must want them back.

Teams this model currently works for: Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees. Teams this model could work for: Athletics, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Rays, White Sox.

Model 3: City Center

The Royals’ option: Washington Square Park. From the beginning, John Sherman cited “downtown baseball” as a possible outcome of the Royals’ stadium search. He emphasized community impact, economic growth, and improved quality of life for Kansas City citizens. While the challenges of the Royals’ search have kept virtually all vacant land in the Kansas City metropolitan area in play, Sherman’s initial thoughts express an urbanist perspective. Baseball and urbanism, or the rejection of it, have always gone hand in hand.

“All roads lead to the center,” said Quinton Lucas, mayor of Kansas City, who advocates for a downtown stadium.

Quinton Lucas

It is presumed that the Royals still have multiple possible locations downtown under consideration, but lately the rumor has revolved around Washington Square Park. From an urban planning perspective, it’s the complete package. Downtown Kansas City is still a work in progress, but it’s in a much better place than at the beginning of this century. The population downtown has more than doubled during that time (current estimates range from 32,000 to 40,000) and is now greater than that of the downtowns of other MLB market centers in more populous metropolitan regions, including Atlanta. And there’s plenty of room to grow. Washington Square Park is located on the southern edge of the Crossroads Arts District, across the street from Crown Center to the south and Union Station to the west. Main Street would run along the western edge of the park and features an expanding streetcar line. Amtrak comes and goes from Union Station across the street. A move to Crossroads would likely eventually put the Royals in the top third of urban parks. This is an attractive vision and a possible model for other markets because it imagines sewing a stadium and the features of a Battery-style development into the city’s backbone. “We want the place to be active 365 days a year because we want retail and food and beverage to succeed throughout the year, not just when we’re in town,” said Brooks Sherman. “The way to do that is density.” Crossroads’ proponents have gone to great lengths to argue that there is ample parking near the site, and that is important. Even so, the nature of the mixed-use baseball development should inherently alleviate parking concerns. With things to do around the stadium, people will come and go at different times, and anyone for whom public transportation is a better option than driving will use public transportation. This would not be an option in the suburbs in most markets, and certainly not in the Kansas City region as things currently stand.

“If you are trying to plant your flag as the center of culture, conversation, and discussion in a community, as well as revenue, by the way, then you go to the densest areas that have everything,” Lucas said.

Quinton Lucas

The potential stadium design works quite well, but the site is constrained by the street grid restrictions. The analysis done by Washington Square Park advocates shows that the site is as large or larger than the footprint of several current stadiums, but a park located in Crossroads could present a rather short porch towards right field. That could be fun for Vinnie Pasquantino. The Royals are aiming for a slightly smaller capacity than The K, around 34,000, and a potential venue here could have much of the intimacy of classic parks, including views from adjacent buildings. The site presents a design challenge, but Kansas City, as the world mecca of sports architecture, has an advantage in that regard. The result could be dazzling.

“Fits like a catcher’s mitt,” said architect Steve McDowell, principal at BNIM.

Steve McDowell

Teams this model currently works for: Astros, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Mariners, Orioles, Padres, Pirates, Reds, Rockies, Tigers, Twins. Teams this model could work for: Brewers, Rays, White Sox. In Kansas City, the ball is in the Royals’ court.

“People are [excited] and want to help,” said Brooks Sherman. “And we said, ‘We’re coming, and we’re going to need your help when we get to the right place.’ We’re working hard and we’ll get there the right way.”

Brooks Sherman

The final decision on the Royals’ future and their new stadium is still pending, but the options and ongoing debate promise a significant impact on the city and the baseball landscape.