Royals CEO John Sherman announced Tuesdaythey are thinking about moving the stadium to downtown Kansas City.
The big question has not been answered, yet: Where would they put it?
Sherman didn't speak to that during his news conference on Tuesday.
The Downtown Council of Kansas City said they agree with Sherman when he said the location should economically improve the neighborhoods around it.
"A downtown ballpark can check all the boxes he mentioned: community impact, economic impact, quality of life in the neighborhoods around the ballpark," Mike Hurd, marketing director for the Downtown Council, said. "We have been working toward this day for a long time. We certainly have identified multiple sites that could serve for a downtown ballpark."
Hurd could not reveal their ideas for a location, but he said they'll work with the Royals leadership.
The Downtown Council has a 10-year strategic plan they'll release in a few months. One of the goals is a downtown stadium.
Hurd stressed a new location should improve equity and integrate well with the neighborhood, rather than section off the city even more. Displacement is an important issue Hurd said they want to avoid.
They envision a catalyst for economic growth with new restaurants, bars and shopping areas within walking distance of the stadium. Existing businesses should thrive, as well.
"It's such a contrast to what we see at the Truman Sports Complex where there's this ocean of concrete and there's no retail opportunity, no economic development opportunity that can happen in those fences," Hurd said. "But this creates a whole new model that the businesses around it can benefit by home games and all that traffic there."
Lindy Winger, who was walking downtown, said she thinks the idea would be great for downtown.
"It would be a better opportunity for fans to access the Royals stadium a lot easier than they do now," Winger said.
Many are wondering the obvious: would it work in the core of downtown?
"I don't know where they would put it, you know, there's limited spacing but there's new development all around the city so it might be a good idea," Victoria Crumpton said. "A lot of traffic but we already have the Sprint Center down here so why not?"
One man wondered about parking.
"I'm telling you, tailgating has got to be a big part of it," Gus said, who did not give a last name.
We asked Hurd about locations to the east of the downtown core and the West Bottoms, which both have larger areas of open land.
Hurd said he's only speculating, but the east side would be full of opportunities.
