KC FAQ

This first-of-its-kind partnership with Hallmark Cards will bring a new downtown ballpark, making Royals baseball more connected to the heart of Kansas City.  With a central location near the Streetcar, Union Station, Liberty Memorial, T-Mobile Center, and the Power & Light District, the Crown Center location offers a more convenient, connected gameday experience.

For our fans, that means easier access to games, more flexibility in how you arrive and leave, and more opportunities to be part of the experience before, during, and after the first pitch. Being in the center of the city allows our fans to meet up, explore, and come earlier and stay longer without the constraints of a single-purpose site.

We are building on the experience that fans know today at The K, with updated amenities, improved circulation, and more places to gather. Our goal is not to replace what works, but to carry it forward in a setting that feels more connected to the city.

For Kansas City, the surrounding development is expected to support local businesses and build on existing public investments downtown by adding activity beyond game days. Bringing more consistent foot traffic to the area will better support local restaurants, bars, hotels, and retail throughout the week.

At its core, this is about creating a better, more accessible experience for our fans, deepening the connection between the Royals and Kansas City, and welcoming new fans into the fold.

The new ballpark will carry forward the elements most associated with Royals baseball, including the fountains, CrownVision, and the welcoming, distinctly Kansas City feel of The K.

We also know our fans and visitors value having the best of Kansas City at the ballpark. Today, that includes partners such as Boulevard Brewing Company, Joe’s Kansas City BBQ, Hawaiian Bros Island Grill, and Charlie Hustle.

Populous, the hometown design firm behind the renovations at The K, is already working on the new ballpark design. The focus is on building on what Royals fans already love while evolving the experience for the future. That includes strong sightlines, an intimate seating bowl, and a design that keeps you close to the action.

These elements will shape a ballpark that feels familiar to longtime fans while creating new spaces and experiences for the future.

We are committed to offering ticket and concession options for a range of budgets and to maintaining a family-friendly experience.

While we can’t set pricing years in advance, our approach remains consistent: providing accessible ways for you to enjoy a game. Today, that includes value concessions priced at $5 or less, entry options such as the Fountain Pass at under $4 per game, and fixed-seat tickets starting around $20. We also offer family packages and group discounts for military, educators, students, healthcare workers, and Jackson County residents.

We also know this location offers many more ways for fans to reach our stadium, including free options like the Streetcar that don’t require parking fees. This is another important way this project lowers the cost of watching Royals baseball. A new ballpark is intended to build on these options, not limit them. Affordability has always been a priority for us, and it will continue to be.

We selected the downtown site in part for its strong access to roads, transit, and existing parking.

Fans will have multiple ways to get to the ballpark, including driving, taking the streetcar or other public transit, and walking from nearby neighborhoods, offices, and hotels. Being in the center of the city also offers more flexibility in how and when our fans and visitors arrive and depart.

There is significant parking capacity in the surrounding area to accommodate gameday demand, consistent with other downtown Major League ballparks, where fans arrive by a mix of driving, transit, and walking.

We will continue working with local and state transportation partners to finalize traffic patterns and route options and to implement operations that support smooth, efficient movement to and from games.

John Sherman and his ownership group have pledged to pay for the majority of this project – $2 billion of the ballpark’s and surrounding development’s estimated $3 billion combined cost.

That would represent the biggest private investment in any project in Kansas City’s history.

Last year, the State of Missouri passed the Show-Me Sports Investment Act, which redirects some state tax dollars generated by people working at and buying at a stadium to pay up to 50% of stadium construction costs. Along with the City of Kansas City, this represents an estimated $1 billion of support, or one-third of the total project.

The project does not rely on creating new taxes or extending existing taxes.

Like the vast majority of professional sports teams, the Royals were founded with public support, which, combined with ownership investment, has tied us to our community in mutually beneficial ways. We take that partnership seriously. 

Ownership signed Bobby Witt Jr. to the largest contract in franchise history, and the team returned to the postseason in 2024. We’ve also continued to invest in our most successful players, and our team ranks among the top in MLB for the percentage of revenue invested directly into players. 

Off the field, we reached 17,000 kids and families through the Urban Youth Academy and invested more than $6 million into the community in 2025, the most of any team in Kansas City and among the top five in MLB. We have been nationally recognized for this work, particularly in childhood literacy, and 97% of fans surveyed believe the Royals have a positive influence in Kansas City. 

We believe this project will build on that track record and support surrounding businesses and neighborhoods. We have heard from business owners and our local community leaders, who are encouraged by the additional activity a new ballpark could bring to their shops, restaurants, and gathering places. 

“This is the happiest day in my life,” our founder Ewing Kauffman said when he won the bid for an expansion team here. “This city will never again lose Major League Baseball.”

Our Chairman and CEO John Sherman, who was a season ticket holder for decades before buying the team, takes those words to heart.

“This process is about making sure we fulfill Ewing Kauffman’s promise that the Royals are Kansas City’s forever,” he said.

Our lease at Kauffman Stadium runs through the 2030 season, so the final seasons at The K will be an opportunity to celebrate one of baseball’s most iconic ballparks and the memories generations of fans have made there.

We’re working on that.

Kauffman Stadium features new dimensions this season, a decision made by Baseball Operations and supported by ownership. Our Research and Development team evaluated multiple scenarios to achieve a fair balance between hitters and pitchers while maintaining a competitive edge.

That same level of care will guide the look, feel, and dimensions of the new ballpark.

Local leaders and developers are already exploring the best uses for The K and the rest of Truman Sports Complex, including County Executive Phil LeVota recently announcing a task force to decide TSC’s best future use.

The Crown Center site brings John Sherman’s vision for a downtown ballpark to life, nestled among some of Kansas City’s most iconic landmarks, including Crown Center, Liberty Memorial, and Union Station. Together, these places tell a distinctly authentic Kansas City story. We also want to play every day in the part of the city that has long been the heart of our biggest celebrations and a showcase for Kansas City at its best.

We believe this setting strengthens downtown energy and builds on the momentum of the past twenty years. With thousands of parking spaces within a 10-minute walk, direct streetcar access, nearby bike trails, and Amtrak connections, we see this site as one of the most accessible in Major League Baseball.

Building on recent survey insights, we will continue to honor the authenticity of Kansas City through signature elements such as our fountains and a reimagined CrownVision scoreboard. We see a downtown ballpark as an opportunity to seamlessly integrate fan experiences both inside and outside the venue, and we believe the Crown Center location is uniquely positioned to bring that vision to life.

We envision our new ballpark offering a wide range of experiences, from intimate, personal moments to large-scale community gatherings. Located in the heart of the city, it will reflect the very best of Kansas City, drawing on the character of our parks, boulevards, fountains, arts, and philanthropic spirit. We envision it as a true gathering place for the community. 

There is little to no precedent worldwide for a sports development of this scale, particularly in a downtown. This project could not have been imagined before the principals of the Royals and Hallmark reconnected.

The plan includes a public-private partnership, with private investment from the Royals and others expected to be three times the local investment from the City of Kansas City. Mayor Quinton Lucas has called this the single biggest economic development project in our hometown’s history.

The project is expected to generate significant job creation, strengthen the local economy, and build on prior public and private investments. Its location in the urban core, with direct access to the Streetcar and surrounding neighborhoods, makes attending Royals games more convenient and accessible.

The Sherman family and Royals ownership group have long and passionate histories of lifting the community.

The Royals recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Royals Foundation, with more than $50 million invested into the community in the last decade. Our work is held up as an example to the rest of Major League Baseball as we have been a finalist for the Bud Selig Philanthropic Excellence Award three of the last four years. We also won the award in 2021.

One example of that work is the Urban Youth Academy, which touches more than 17,000 families each years. Another is the Royals Literacy League, in which players like Bobby Witt Jr personally visit classrooms to spread the love of reading. Participating schools saw a 30 percent jump in third-grade literacy rates this year.

We mention all of this to say this is who we’ve always been, and it’s who we’ll continue to be.

As part of this project, we worked with City leaders and area stakeholders to develop the Community Impact Partnership Agreement. Importantly, all of what we already do in the community will continue, and none of it is included in the CIPA. This is all new work, totaling more than $50 million in additional investment. If you add in what we already and will continue to do, we’re proud to be into nine figures of community investment.

The CIPA’s focus was shaped by the priorities of neighborhood stakeholders and local leaders, and partnered with authorities in each field.

One example: the Royals will invest millions in support of the City’s Housing Gateway Program, directly helping experts on a challenge local leaders have specifically and repeatedly targeted.
We are also proud to invest millions into the Missouri Works Initiative, creating sustainable and livable jobs and prevailing wages. This investment will help change lives for those looking for new careers.

Other investments include the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s expansion, Washington Square Park safety and accessibility, youth sports, and the arts.
From the beginning, John Sherman has been driven by the need to make this a win for the Royals, our fans, and his hometown.

Voters did not approve a sales tax extension that would have funded a new Royals ballpark in East Crossroads and renovations at Arrowhead Stadium.

After that vote, we did a lot of listening; asked a lot of questions, and did a lot of planning. The project that came from that work is different in virtually every way, but perhaps most notably the location, funding, neighborhood disruption and partnership.

Let’s look at these in order.

Crown Center was designed as a live-work-play neighborhood that can host big events, and with 85 acres presents the largest downtown sports-anchored development in the worldXXX. Our vision is aligned with Hallmark’s, a true win-win as Crown Center is infused with fresh development and the Royals are uniquely positioned to better reach and serve fans.

Our vision will be funded primarily by the largest private investment to a public project in Kansas City history, with a public-private funding ratio of roughly 2:1. There will be no sales tax extension, and no new taxes created outside the district. That means the vast majority of funding comes from the Royals and those who frequent the development. The largest share of public funding is from the City, with each dollar of City funding leveraged by more than three dollars of private investment.

The loudest and stickiest opposition two years ago came from small business owners who would’ve been displaced. We took that to heart. Zero small business owners will move because of this project. To the contrary, we know most stakeholders in and around Crown Center are thrilled with the investment and energy coming their way. We’ve had regular communication and coordination with Crossroads businesses, district residents, and new neighbors like Union Station and Children’s Mercy Hospital. We’re excited about the future we’re building together.

This project would not be possible without the partnership and support of Hallmark and particularly Don Hall Jr. We know the Hall family has never taken on a partner with Crown Center, and would not do so without trust in both the Sherman family and Royals brand.

That’s an honor we do not take lightly.

It’s hard to quantify the number of thank-yous and atta-boys we hear around The K and throughout the city, or the amazement in other markets that there’s an 85-acre downtown district designed to host big events available for a baseball-anchored development.
We are enormously grateful for all of the support, including hourly union members working part-time jobs at The K and around Kansas City, neighborhood residents and small business owners welcoming us into their lives, City and regional leaders, and Royals fans everywhere.

Those who’ve publicly supported the project include the Mayor, City Manager, 10 of 12 Councilmembers, the Governor, State Legislature, the Kansas City Area Development Council, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the Civic Council of Kansas City, the Mid-America Regional Council, the Heavy Constructors Association of Greater Kansas City, the Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council, the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO, the Missouri Works Initiative, the Gateway Housing Project, RideKC and the KC Streetcar, leaders of Crossroads businesses such as Grünauer Restaurant, Highline Partners, Tom’s Town, Brewery Emperial, Apex Engineering, SpecChem, Life.Church East Kansas City, and REACTOR Design, residents at Santa Fe Place in Crown Center, and district neighbors such as Union Station, the World War I Museum, Children’s Mercy Hospital, University Health Truman Medical Center, and Ronald McDonald House.

That is just a partial list. Support from those and many others is critical in making this project the envy of the rest of the country and Major League Baseball.