Will the Royals move downtown? Go to Kansas? With the ongoing saga of a future stadium for the team, I get asked these questions repeatedly. My answer: I have no idea.
What would I LIKE to happen? No surprise to Hot Stove readers. DOWNTOWN!
The specific location now getting buzz is Washington Square Park, across Pershing Road from the Crown Center Hotel. After the annual Memorial Day concert this year, Mayor Quinton Lucas gave an obvious reference to what he views as a favorable location…
A stadium on Pershing Road between Grand and Main is not a recent idea. In 1948, architects Keene & Simpson submitted a study of Signboard Hill to the “Downtown committee”. The study included a sketch of a stadium on the south side of Pershing Road (below, from the Kansas City Star of 11/21/1948). Mayor William Kemp and committee members were impressed with the idea, but a stadium was far down on their list of bond proposals. Signboard Hill later became the home of Crown Center.
In 2005, the north side of Pershing Road (Washington Square Park) was identified in a report as one of five potential sites for a downtown Royals stadium (see layout below). The report by Barrett Sports Group was commissioned by the Downtown Council as part of its effort to bring the Royals downtown. The effort failed when the Royals opted for improvements at the K.
In 2017, a study was jointly funded by downtown advocate Jon Copaken, the city and the Downtown Council. But the Royals expressed little interest, so no progress was made. My info on these 2005 and 2017 efforts came from an article by Kevin Collison in Flatland.
In 2019, John Sherman and a group of local investors bought the Royals. Sherman, already a big Kansas City booster through his philanthropy, let it be known he was interested in downtown baseball.
In 2024, an attempt to place a new Royals stadium in the north end of the Crossroads was rejected by the voters.
In 2025, the buzz is for a Royals stadium at Washington Square Park. Here’s a teaser from the website of a group of downtown supporters.
What Has Changed Since 2024?: There were a variety of reasons the stadium vote was lost in 2024, but the next round will hopefully overcome some of the obstacles.
One of the biggest unknowns in 2024 was how much funding the state of Missouri would commit. Last month, Governor Mike Kehoe and the Missouri legislature came through with an offer of 50% of the cost, conditioned on acceptable contributions from local government and team owners. This is big!
Mayor Quinton Lucas has suggested that a new election may not be necessary if other funding is available from local government sources. If that’s the case, the balance of this Hot Stove is moot.
But what if that is not enough and an election is necessary? Will the voters say yes to a new and improved campaign? If history is a guide, the answer is YES! KCMO (with an assist from Jackson County) has gone to bat (sorry) three times for major league baseball. In each of those campaigns, a big advantage was that voters were presented with projects enthusiastically supported by (i) the political establishment, (ii) the business community and (iii) the Kansas City Star. In 2024, not so lucky.
Let’s look at those three successful campaigns and then what we might expect in a new election.
1954 – If You Build a Second Deck, the A’s Will Come: Remember Mayor William Kemp from above? He was the mayor in 1948 when the proposal was made for a stadium on Signboard Hill. He was still in office in 1954 when it looked like Kansas City might become the new home of the Philadelphia A’s.
The photo below is from November of 1954 when this Kansas City group was in New York to persuade the American League to relocate the A’s to KC. Standing, Ernie Mehl and Les Milgram. Seated, Karl Koerper, John McDermott, Robert Benson, Arnold Johnson, William Kemp, and Alex Lewi.
Milgram, Koerper, McDermott and Lewi represented the business community. Mayor Kemp was joined by Councilman Robert Benson to represent the city. Ernie Mehl was the sports editor of the Kansas City Star and is credited with convincing Arnold Johnson to move the A’s to Kansas City.
In August, months before this photo was taken, Kansas City held an election on several bond issues, one of which was to add a second deck to Blues Stadium at 22nd and Brooklyn to house a potential major league team. The issue was approved by a vote of 61,437 to 15,235. Wow. Well above the 2/3 requirement.
This optimistic headline in the Star was somewhat premature as the negotiations to purchase the A’s dragged on and some AL owners were not in favor of relocation. But the Kansas City delegation put on a full court press with sales of season tickets and messages to the league. One of my favorite examples comes from Ernie Mehl’s book on the A’s move to KC…
Mehl praised an ad in the Star placed by jeweler Barney Helzberg, showing a boy praying “…and maybe I shouldn’t be asking, but please bring the A’s to Kansas City.” The ad went viral (for the era), getting picked up by a national magazine and commented on by columnists. Copies were posted in the meeting room of the American League where the owners met to discuss the A’s situation.
[Helzberg Trivia: I checked in with Barney’s son Charley Helzberg who advised that the ad “was not written by the advertising department of Helzberg’s, but instead by my journalist mother.”]
After the move to KC was belatedly approved by the league, the city miraculously rebuilt and expanded the stadium in time for opening day on April 12, 1955 (I again remind Hot Stove readers that this is the day John Sherman was born). Sports Illustrated celebrated the achievement with this two-page photo captioned “Opening day crowd of 32,844 jammed into Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium, almost entirely rebuilt in 22 weeks on site of old ball park.” You will find 13-year-old Lonnie in the upper deck on the far left.
1967 – If You Build a New Stadium, the Royals Will Come: Ownership of the A’s moved to Charlie Finley in 1960, and it was not long before he was threatening to move the team. The city was also fearful that they could lose the Chiefs if a new stadium was not on the horizon.
Jackson County was being run by a popular trio of administrative judges coming off a successful election in 1966. From left, Alex Petrovic, Charles Curry and Charles Wheeler.
The county held an election in 1967 on a series of bond issues that included dual stadiums for baseball and football. The one for football was to keep the Chiefs. The one for baseball was to try and keep Finley or be available for an expansion MLB team. The issue was approved by a vote of 61,872 to 27,878. Wow again. 69% (needed 2/3, so this vote was close).
As in the 1954 election, the voters were presented with a united front. In his “Sporting Comment” column, Sports Editor Joe McGuff praised the county judges and other elected officials, the business community, and his colleague Ernie Mehl who “worked on it from its inception until election day.”
And of course, Finley did leave, but the city got its expansion team and a wonderful owner in Ewing Kauffman. Thanks go to those county judges and the voters.
2006 – If You Renovate the Stadium, the Royals Will Stay: Kay Barnes was mayor from 1999 to 2007. Her visionary leadership led to the creation of the Power and Light District and the T-Mobile Center. She also was interested in a downtown baseball stadium (remember the study from 2005), but Royals owner David Glass, successor to the Kauffman era, was not interested.
So, Jackson County held an election for improvements to both stadiums at the Truman Sports Complex. As reported in the Star, “Jackson County Executive and Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes joined themselves at the hip to sell the package.”
The business community was again supportive, and the Kansas City Star editorialized…
“Across the nation and even in many parts of the world, Kansas City is known because of its teams. Locally, the teams knit the community together, across state line and across the political divide. How does one calculate the social benefit of a shared interest? Economic studies differ, but for fans in the stands, for those who make Kansas City the tailgating king of football games and for those who gather around televisions or love to relive games in print, major league sports are treats that are tough to quantify.”
The stadium improvements issue won with 53.5% of the vote (only needed 50%, thank goodness). The addition of a rolling roof was a separate issue and failed (48.7%).
2025 – If You Build a Downtown Stadium, the Royals AND Downtown Will Thrive: It’s a twofer. As a fan of baseball, I am assured of hometown baseball for myself and the next generation. As a fan of Kansas City, I believe a downtown stadium at Washington Square Park will be complementary to the impressive development of downtown over the last 25 years.
One comment I often hear is that the site is too small. The park and available adjacent property provide a footprint of 11.5 acres. One suggestion is that a lane of Grand Avenue be added to increase the footprint. A close example of an existing stadium is Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. It sits on just 8.5 acres (plus gaining another two acres by extending over railroad tracks and roadway). I’ve been there, and it’s a nice stadium. Below, a photoshop of Target Field on the KC site (by a guy on Reddit who calls himself DirtbikeStepdad).
Works for me. But what about those folks who were instrumental in the prior campaigns? Will they join in?
Business Community: A group formed last year has already jumped in to make a persuasive case for Washington Square Park. Independent of the Royals, the city and the county, Vince Bryant of 3D Development assembled a team of architects, real estate brokers, attorneys and PR professionals who have produced renderings, a list of benefits and details on parking, access, streetcar, etc. See it all on their website here.
One of the quotes on the website is spot on. Steve McDowell of BNIM: “It didn’t take long to see that this is the right site for the Royals and the people of Kansas City. For more than 50 years, we’ve worked in the Union Station District and a new ballpark here would leverage so many existing public and private assets. Even more, it connects to a civic tradition of what began two miles east at the historic Municipal Stadium. This is the last piece of the puzzle in finishing the heart of the city.”
Here’s another good quote from an open letter posted by Downtown Council Chair Gib Kerr:
“A thriving, vibrant downtown is essential to the vitality of the entire Kansas City region. Out-of-town visitors, businesses, and investors – not to mention the next generation of creative talent – form their opinions of our city largely based upon the health of our urban core. Losing the Royals to a suburban Kansas location would be a monumental lost opportunity for not only downtown but for the entire Kansas City region.”
A recent presentation hosted by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce was covered by the Missouri Independent with the headline “Missouri or Kansas? Business leaders don’t care as long as Chiefs and Royals stay near KC” (click here). The more important lesson from that presentation is that this set of business leaders indicated support for a downtown stadium if that is what the Royals choose to do.
Kansas City has grown in all four directions – suburbs to the west, north, east and south. The best way to serve all of them is a stadium in the geographical center and cultural heart of the area. To paraphrase an old saying…
A rising and vibrant downtown lifts all suburbs.
Kansas City Star: The coverage by the Star for last year’s election seemed to range from skepticism to slight support. The Star does not have the circulation it had in the earlier elections (no newspaper does these days), but it will still be influential. Hopefully, more details on the financial side (the state funding will help) and the site will lead to a strong endorsement.
In an editorial this past Sunday, the Star was supportive of the Royals staying in Missouri, and if they leave the Truman Sports Complex, “they should be downtown.” This was not otherwise an endorsement, as that will have to wait until the detailed proposal is on the table.
In my dream scenario, I see a Star endorsement leading to stadium columns reminiscent of Ernie Mehl and Joe McGuff. Check out this 1954 ad in the Star when Milgram’s thanked Ernie Mehl for his “BIG LEAGUE PLAN.”
I could not resist including this ad. After all, it includes a hot stove.
Political Establishment: After last year’s election loss, I wrote this in Hot Stove:
“My unsolicited advice to the Royals: Do not pursue a [location downtown] without signoff from Mayor Quinton Lucas and a good portion of the city council. Although the taxing district is Jackson County, the infrastructure, civic planning and incentives for any ballpark district will be city matters. Projects like this need (and deserve) constructive political leadership. If the mayor and council are not enthusiastic advocates for a downtown stadium, no need to pursue.”
There may be good news on this. In a letter issued last week by Mayor Lucas, he said, “Kansas City has assembled and shared with the Royals a unique, comprehensive, and unmatched offer to secure the future for the Royals Downtown in what would be one of the finest and most beautiful facilities and districts in baseball.”
Assuming the Royals like the offer…
Big Question #1: Will a vote be necessary? If not, I’m sorry I wasted your time reading this Hot Stove, but hey, we are on or way to a downtown stadium.
Big Question #2: If a vote is necessary, will the election district be Kansas City or Jackson County?
If Kansas City, hopefully the city council is on board and the parts of the city in Clay County and Platte County will be supportive.
If Jackson County, will the political climate be more favorable than in 2024 when the county legislature overrode County Executive Frank White’s veto to place the stadiums on the ballot? White and the county legislature are often at odds, and this week, the election board announced that petitioners have collected enough signatures to subject White to a recall election. Political climate very cloudy.
Downtown Baseball. A Grand Slam. But not a slam dunk.
Lonnie’s Jukebox – Age 82 Edition: This past month, we lost Lou Christie, Sly Stone and Brian Wilson. All three were 82.
Lou Christie had five top 40 hits from 1963 to 1969. Two of them were…
“Lightnin’ Strikes” (1965). A #1 hit.
“Rhapsody in the Rain” (1966). The link is to the original version which has the lyrics “We were makin’ out in the rain” and “Our love went much too far.” These lyrics were considered too risqué for some radio stations, so the label put out a second version with revisions of “We fell in love in the rain” and “Our love came like a falling star” (the “clean” version here). With the change came more airplay and a #16 hit.
Sly & The Family Stone had six top 40 hits, and these three went to #1:
“Everyday People” (1968). Fun video. “Different strokes for different folks…”
“Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” (1970). The parenthetical part of the title is a mondegreen, a mishearing of lyrics in the song (“thank you for letting me be myself again”).
“Family Affair” (1971).
Although Brian Wilson also had a solo career, his hits came while he was the leader of the Beach Boys. The group had 36 top 40 hits and could fill three or four editions of Lonnie’s Jukebox. But for today, I’ll just go with five selections.
“Surfin’ U.S.A.” (1963). This was their first top 10 hit (peaked at #3). Although Brian Wilson wrote new lyrics, the melody was almost identical to Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen,” and the lyrics of both listed a series of cities. The Beach Boys manager Murray Wilson (Brian’s father) agreed with Berry’s copyright claim and signed over songwriting royalties to Berry.
“Fun, Fun, Fun” (1964). “…till her daddy takes the T-bird away.”
“California Girls” (1965).
“Sloop John B” (1966). From the influential Pet Sounds album.
“Good Vibrations” (1966). My favorite from the Beach Boys.
Walk-Off Story – Gates or Bryant’s?: That has been a question for decades. There are now many more choices, but the names of Gates and Bryant remain legendary. I got a reminder of this last week when I had lunch at both.
On Thursday, it was Gates on Cleaver Boulevard. Mark Bryant (no relation to Arthur) and I ate some barbecue before he headed off for the afternoon Royals game.
On Friday, it was Arthur Bryant’s for an annual trip organized by Leland Shurin. Four of us rode down Brooklyn, paying homage to Municipal Stadium and Sam’s Parking as we passed 22nd Street on our way to 1727 Brooklyn. When we arrived, the line was out on the sidewalk. It was 1:30! Lots of out-of-towners, some of them Dodger fans in for the weekend games with the Royals. Luckily, we got in line before a bus arrived with a travel group on a stadium tour, proving that Bryant’s retains its national image that goes back to 1974 when Calvin Trillin “playfully extolled” in the New Yorker that Bryant’s has long been acknowledged as “the single best restaurant in the world.”
Below, my pic of the rest of our lunch crew. In the middle wearing his Royals City Connect hat is Paul Donnelly, flanked by Leland Shurin (blue shirt) and Mike Zakoura.
The barbecue outings reminded me of a baseball scorecard that ran in Hot Stove in 2016. It is from 1939 for an exhibition game in Kansas City between the Yankees and their farm team, the Blues.
On the bottom row of ads, at the right, is “Charlie Bryant’s Barbecue,” sold later to his brother Arthur who moved it to 1727 Brooklyn.
At left, the “Kentucky Barbecue” at 19th and Vine was later sold to George Gates, and his son Ollie continues in the business today. Below, Ollie and I at the Cleaver Boulevard location last year (Mark Bryant photo). Ollie was recently feted in Kansas City Magazine’s “9 Over 90” special issue (click here).
And this is great timing. Tomorrow, July 3, is Ollie’s birthday. He will be 94! Still goes to work almost every day.
Happy Birthday Ollie!