Parking, seating capacity and a public vote: What we know about a new Royals stadium

On Tuesday, the Kansas City Royals unveiled their latest renderings showing what a new baseball stadium might look like at two potential locations.

But many questions remain about what a new stadium would mean for fans. Where will the parking be? What would the stadium be called? When might voters be asked to weigh in?

The images released by the Royals, and the public statements of team officials, identify only two possible locations under consideration. One is the East Village area in downtown Kansas City. The other is North Kansas City.

Some estimates of additional parking to be built and seating capacity in a new stadium were floated Tuesday, as well as clues to what considerations would go into a name for the stadium.

And there has been talk of when public financing for the stadium could be put up for a public vote.

The team has estimated the entire development would cost more than $2 billion, split evenly between the stadium and a surrounding ballpark district, the latter funded by private investment.

Here’s what we know after Tuesday’s announcements:

Where would the new Royals stadium be located?

The Royals have two sites in mind: East Village in downtown Kansas City or north of the river in Clay County.

East Village is a neighborhood in downtown Kansas City. It’s located northeast of City Hall and is home to the J.E. Dunn Construction headquarters. The construction company is also a part of the Royals’ ownership group.

In North Kansas City, the Royals would have access to nearly 100 acres of land owned or controlled by the influential Merriman family. It’s more than quadruple the size of the 20 or so acres in the East Village, which VanTrust Real Estate has assembled in recent years.

The team said they plan to select a site by the end of September, and they plan to have it built by the start of the 2028 season.

What would be the seating capacity?

The new stadium would have 34,500 to 35,000 fixed seats with space for another 3,500 fans for a standing room only experience, team officials have said.

That would give the stadium a total capacity of around 38,000.

The current capacity at Kauffman Stadium is 37,903, not including standing room only sections used during the 2014 and 2015 playoff runs.

Other features of the proposed stadium would include:

• 32 suites at three pricing levels

• 2,750 club seats at five price points

• 150 space parking garage for administration and players

• 250 person beer garden

• 75,000 square feet of administration office space

• 30,000 square feet for a home clubhouse

• 7,000 square feet for sports book

• 10 party suites

• Two tailgate roof pavilions

What about parking?

The Star’s Sam McDowell posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Earl Santee, global chair for Populous, said the East Village site would include building 4,000 parking spaces.

It wasn’t said how many parking spaces would be included at a North Kansas City site, but a rendering depicted parking and tailgating space at a stadium there.

What would the new stadium be named?

Kauffman Stadium, or “The K,” is named after Ewing Kauffman, the team’s founder and first owner.

The stadium is in the minority of Major League Baseball ballparks without a corporate logo for a name, such as PNC Park in Pittsburgh or Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.

Team officials were asked whether the new ballpark would keep its name. Brooks Sherman, no relation to team owner John Sherman, said the team hasn’t gotten that far yet.

“But you can bet there’s certainly a way to honor him and we will do everything we can to do that,” he said. “But there’s economics that can go into things there, too. And you’ve seen that throughout the league.”

For now, the Royals are tied to Kauffman Stadium. The lease through Jackson County runs through the end of the 2030 season.

When would public funding for a stadium be up for a vote?

Royals owner John Sherman said the team would try to have a measure placed on a Jackson County ballot in April 2024.

“Yeah, I think April would be our target in Jackson County, and I would say it’s ‘28 (for the stadium),” Sherman told The Star’s Sam McDowell and Vahe Gregorian.

“Theoretically, you could break a land-speed record and get it done by ‘27, but I think it’s probably more realistically ‘28. And we can do that since our lease runs through 2030.

In Jackson County the Royals would seek an extension of the 3/8ths of a cent sales tax.

The sales tax currently goes to pay off the debt on the Truman Sports Complex and would potentially help pay for a new baseball stadium and renovations of Arrowhead Stadium for the Chiefs.

For the North Kansas City site, the Royals would seek a one-cent sales tax in Clay County.

A recent poll of 300 Clay County voters suggested strong opposition to a tax to pay for a stadium.

In the poll, 70% of voters said they would be against a new sales tax “for construction of a new multibillion-dollar stadium and mixed use development.”

The Star’s Sam McDowell, Vahe Gregorian, Jaylon Thompson, Pete Grathoff, Mike Hendricks, Robert A. Cronkleton and Bill Lukitsch contributed.