Gov. Parson urges Royals to pick a stadium site. ‘I don’t know how to sugarcoat this’

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson voiced frustration with indecision by the Kansas City Royals over its future and says the team must decide on a path forward by January if it expects the state to help.

The Republican governor, in so many words, exhorted the team to get its act together in a radio interview last week. The comments come as the team has been exploring Washington Square Park and other downtown stadium sites, sources have told The Star.

“Some decisions have to be made. I don’t know how to sugarcoat this, but the Royals have got to make a decision,” Parson said on KCMO Talk Radio on Friday. “They’ve either got to say we’re going to go, we’re going to build a stadium, what that’s going to look like and what we’re going to need or what is their ask.”

Parson, who will leave office in January, said “there’s nothing I can help with” until the team figures out where it’s headed.

“I don’t even know that at this point,” Parson said. “I don’t know if anybody up there does.”

The governor added that if the Royals don’t have a plan in place by Jan. 1, 2025, “it’s going to be too late.”

“You can’t make a plan in November, December and expect the state to come in and help you,” he said, but didn’t elaborate further.

It’s unclear whether Parson was aware of the Royals’ exploration of Washington Square Park and other potential downtown sites when he made the remarks last week.

The public warning to the Royals suggests the team faces a ticking clock to secure support from Missouri. The General Assembly will reconvene in January, but any proposed legislation will almost certainly need to be in development well in advance to secure the support of key lawmakers and overcome – or at least soften – opposition.

The future of the Royals and the Chiefs have been uncertain since Jackson County voters rejected a stadiums sales tax in April ahead of the expiration of the teams’ leases at the Truman Sports Complex in 2031. The Kansas Legislature this spring passed a bill authorizing a supercharged bonding program to entice one or both teams across the border.

The Royals declined to comment on potential sites — in Kansas City, Missouri, or otherwise — but have emphasized since the April vote that they would explore all options.

Parson has promised to spend his remaining months in office working to secure both teams’ future in Missouri. But it remains unclear what aid, exactly, the state would offer.

In January, either Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe or House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Democrat, will become the next governor. Both have voiced openness to using state aid to keep the teams in Missouri.

Parson on Friday sounded less concerned about the Chiefs. The governor, an ardent Chiefs fan who holds season tickets, said he didn’t want to sound partial to the Chiefs.

“But the reality of it is we’re trying to make a business decision. These guys have to make a decision,” Parson said of the Royals.

The Star reported on Wednesday that if the Royals select a downtown location, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas appears prepared to offer a financial structure that relies on city incentives – instead of the countywide sales tax that voters rejected.

The Royals and the city have not reached a full economic picture for a downtown ballpark proposal. Lucas told The Star in a recent interview, saying that “nobody has come to my office and said, ‘Here’s the site. Here’s the contract we want. Here’s the deal.’”

Multiple sources told The Star that conversations in the wake of the April vote have included studying several downtown sites, including in the Crossroads, East Village and along the North Loop of downtown. Washington Square Park has recently emerged as the option occupying most of those conversations..

“I think probably the most interesting thing about the downtown stadium conversation is whoever figures out parking the best is going to be perhaps the most successful site,” Lucas said. “And, I think more broadly, everybody in the conversation is probably saying, ‘How do you remove some of the negative variables in connection to what you’ve seen in certain spots?’”