Kansas City Council Approves Royals Stadium Agreements

Posted August 21, 2026

The Kansas City Council has approved the Royals stadium deal, which would create a new ballpark and mixed-use district in Crown Center.

City Council members voted 11-2 to approve the agreement during Thursday’s meeting. The vote now allows the Royals to construct a $3 billion stadium-anchored mixed-use district in the Washington Square Park/Crown Center area. The ballpark will be located at the northwest corner of 26th and Gillham.

Council members Johnathan Duncan and Nathan Willett voted against the ordinance at the Thursday meeting.

On Tuesday, the Kansas City Finance, Governance, and Public Safety Committee met to review and discuss the lease, development, funding, and community benefits agreements for the new stadium. No time for public comment took place during this meeting.

During that meeting, Missouri Workers Power member Darrell Miller voiced his frustration that a speaker had gone past the two-minute limit. An altercation broke out at the meeting, during which Miller was removed from the room and taken to the hallway where security pinned him to teh ground and arrested him.

The estimated cost for the new stadium is $1.9 billion. Kansas City has committed $600 million to the development of the stadium, with $90 million of that sum going toward infrastructure costs. The remaining $510 million will be issued to the Royals through bonds.

The Royals have a 30-year lease agreement with the city, and Kansas City will receive 5% of all net profits from non-baseball events. The Royals also have the option to extend their lease with the city by two or five years.

The Royals have said it wishes to begin construction of the new ballpark sometime in 2026, with completion in 2030.

The City Council will vote on the rezoning for the ballpark district master plan at their next meeting on Sept. 3.