KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bridget Meroney just opened shop at Erin Rose Boutique on Armour Road in North Kansas City.
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"I love the corner location," Meroney said. "The community down here is awesome."
The negotiations continue as far as where the Royals will decide to build a new stadium and entertainment district.
Meroney has nothing bad to say when it comes to potentially having it right across the street.
"I think it would be great for our business," she said. "Get more traffic down here; I think that’s the overall goal for North Kansas City."
But, not everyone on Armour is as sold as Meroney is.
Mindy Hart, the owner of Expressive Art & Music Studio, has a lot of questions.
"What’s traffic gonna be like? Is my rent gonna go up? Is my building going to be sold?" Hart said. "Can I afford to move to another spot in North Kansas City if that should happen?"
Expressive has been at it's Armour Road location since before the pandemic. She said they haven't fully recovered from COVID, so the what-ifs are concerning.
Hart see's two possibilities: a ballpark district can bring a lot of business and be the best thing for Expressive, or it could be the reason she has to close shop.
"People aren’t coming here and necessarily gonna go to the entertainment district — come over here — and paint and stuff, get messy, and then have a wet painting to take home," Hart said.
For her, it's hard to plan ahead when there are still so many unknowns.
"I’m kind of waiting for them to make decisions, and so much of my business is dependent upon what they do or what they don’t do," Hart said.
She hopes the Royals are the finishing touch on North Kansas City's canvas, and not the reason why she has to leave.
"I hope the royals move here, I hope they have a very profitable experience here," Hart said. "We’re not gonna get all the answers that we want, but maybe taking us along for the ride could help us get excited."
KSHB 41 reached out to Clay County asking about their involving NKC residents in the discussion.
They replied, "The issue will be decided by the citizens of Clay County at the ballot box should the Royals choose us, as it should. The need for townhall style meetings and other events are vital to this process."
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