Kansas City Royals ready to say goodbye to Kauffman Stadium?
Despite being one of the older stadiums in baseball, if you would tell most baseball fans that Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals, might be the next stadium replaced in baseball, they’d probably be surprised … and for good reason.
Kauffman Stadium opened in 1973 and has been the home of the Royals since then but it is one of the nicer facilities in the sport. But the Royals and their owner John Sherman (who just took over the team in the 2019-2020 offseason) have publicly expressed interest in a new stadium and, preferably, one that would be in downtown Kansas City.
In fact, here is Sherman talking about it in March.
The Kansas City Royals are looking to move out of Kauffman Stadium
According to The Kanas City Star, the Kansas City Royals are primarily looking at two locations to build their new stadium. Both would be in downtown Kansas City, which is about 8 miles northwest of Kauffman Stadium.
The first potential site would be in the “East Village” district of Kansas City. This is currently about a block east of City Hall and close to the K.C. Police Department. It is also just six blocks away from the Power & Light District, which is known for its bars, restaurants, hotels, and apartments.
The second potential site would be about a mile southeast of East Village. It would be on the corner of 18th and Vine and is currently home to the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. This would put a new stadium less than two blocks away from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the fields for Kansas City’s MLB Urban and Youth Academy.
You can check out a 3D Model of the two sites below.
Stadium interactive by McClatchy on Sketchfab
However, a new stadium would have to be approved by voters as the stadium would be partially funded by citizens but the Royals could leave Kauffman Stadium as soon as Opening Day 2026.
Despite not really needing a new stadium and the current location (sharing a massive complex with the Kansas City Chiefs and their Arrowhead Stadium) being good, it would be very interesting to see a downtown location for the Royals as many teams and stadiums, like Colorado’s Coors Field, have thrived on a downtown location.
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In addition, a location right by the Negro Leagues Museum and the MLB Urban and Youth Academy fields would make the area a great complex of baseball in the past, present, and future.