Downtown Baseball Stadium

[DColeKC]

It seems if the last 2 posts were correct than there would be no surface parking lots DT anywhere. All the current lots were once buildilngs.

But those surface lots slowly popped up over decades as old buildings became too deteriorated to repair.

[moderne]

I lived here through those decades, and they were not too deteriorated to repair. I a great % of cases they were demolished to make parking for another building adjoining.

[DColeKC]

I lived here through those decades, and they were not too deteriorated to repair. I a great % of cases they were demolished to make parking for another building adjoining.

Well then I’d argue that those property owners did the math and determined it wasn’t worth investing in repairing the structure opposed to adding parking. Seems like most lots are owned by the same owner of the adjoining business.

I think what’s happened in the past, over many years is a far cry from the claim that buildings will start going down in favor of surface parking lots once a stadium is built. The stadium makes the surrounding buildings more valuable for many potential tenants.

[TheUrbanRoo]

After long hard thought and discussion, I have to decided to endorse the East Crossroads location for the new Royals stadium.

The piece of shit underwhelming EV renderings did it, along with DCole persuasion.

[moderne]

It is less than 3 months till the vote on the 3/8 cent sales tax. Prior to the airport terminal vote(which was not even on the tab of taxpayers) we knew not only the location, but the design, the developer, the MBE. etc. We do not even know if the county or the Royals will own the stadium. Will all this come out prior to April? Or do they remain vague in hope of not offending anybody and think voters will approve a check without knowing specifically what its for? Everyone seems to think this vote is assured especially if the Chiefs are tied in. Remember Jax Co voters turned down the roof on Arrowhead.

[DColeKC]

It is less than 3 months till the vote on the 3/8 cent sales tax. Prior to the airport terminal vote(which was not even on the tab of taxpayers) we knew not only the location, but the design, the developer, the MBE. etc. We do not even know if the county or the Royals will own the stadium. Will all this come out prior to April? Or do they remain vague in hope of not offending anybody and think voters will approve a check without knowing specifically what its for? Everyone seems to think this vote is assured especially if the Chiefs are tied in. Remember Jax Co voters turned down the roof on Arrowhead.

They turned down the roof because we have an established history of outdoor football. At least the people I’ve ever discussed the topic and myself. Granted, I’m not looking forward to freezing today but it’s part of being a Chiefs fan. We don’t want a roof. We don’t want the name changed and we don’t want a new stadium if it’s cost effective to keep this arrowhead.

I think you’ll see plans, renderings and much more information before the vote. Even if the final details are not in place. The final details weren’t in place before the last vote in 2006 but that was just renovations.

[moderne]

DCole please be safe tonight. Even experienced masochists can be injured in sub zero conditions!

[Highlander]

It is less than 3 months till the vote on the 3/8 cent sales tax. Prior to the airport terminal vote(which was not even on the tab of taxpayers) we knew not only the location, but the design, the developer, the MBE. etc. We do not even know if the county or the Royals will own the stadium. Will all this come out prior to April? Or do they remain vague in hope of not offending anybody and think voters will approve a check without knowing specifically what its for? Everyone seems to think this vote is assured especially if the Chiefs are tied in. Remember Jax Co voters turned down the roof on Arrowhead.

Right. This is really all that matters because without it there is no stadium in EV or EC. I was a proponent of EV but I've started liking the EC location more and more. I think that location fits into the fabric of the city better and has better access to existing infrastructure and entertainment areas and, most importantly, it probably will be better accepted by suburban fans who know enough about downtown to be skeptical about an East Village location.

Regardless, securing a victory at the polls will be an uphill battle. It's not the airport. The airport was a no brainer once people realized it would not be funded via a tax. There are several different populations that need to be convinced: 1. Jackson County suburbanites who do not want to drive further or give up the known self-contained parking-rich aspect of TSC 2. Anti-tax people who won't vote for a new tax or a continuation of an old tax particularly after the Jackson County property tax fiasco and 3. Downtown people who were invested in the EV location and now feel disenfranchised. Not really sure how the city and the sports team should market this. Jackson County could be the worst entity in the metro to have to get this tax passed.

One nice thing about a sales tax is that a downtown stadium helps pay for itself as people who start spending money downtown as a result are further contributing to the funding mechanism. At TSC, almost nobody from Johnson Co KS (or Clay or Platte or Cass Counties) spends an extra dime in Jackson Co Missouri while attending a game.

[KCPowercat]

After long hard thought and discussion, I have to decided to endorse the East Crossroads location for the new Royals stadium.

The piece of shit underwhelming EV renderings did it, along with DCole persuasion.

But those weren't renderings.

[DColeKC]

After long hard thought and discussion, I have to decided to endorse the East Crossroads location for the new Royals stadium.

The piece of shit underwhelming EV renderings did it, along with DCole persuasion.

But those weren't renderings.

The ones the Royals put out? They were conceptual renderings produced by the worlds best sports architecture firm?

I think they were very VERY conceptual, but they were renderings none the less.

[KCPowercat]

Yeah concepts. Not renderings. Heck the star building owner was more refined rendering than those ones were.

Now was it a mistake to release those? I say yes, you can see the affect of shitty concept release.

[DColeKC]

Yeah concepts. Not renderings. Heck the star building owner was more refined rendering than those ones were.

Now was it a mistake to release those? I say yes, you can see the affect of shitty concept release.

I guess we're getting caught up in semantics. What the Royals put out for EV and NKC were legitimate renderings and I'd venture to say gave us the basic details as far as overall vision, like where exactly the stadium itself would be placed

I think the initial design was poorly liked. Most people lack the vision to imagine what it can really be, so they need final plan, realistic renderings. I could put together very realistic renderings but that takes so much time and costs a lot of money. I can't wait to see the real renderings for East Crossroads. They get one chance to hit this out of the park.

[KCPowercat]

They were even labeled "for visual depiction only" but yeah overall semantics. Definitely trying to show location and blocking more than the building itself.

It was very poorly liked building by everyone and for good reason. Shouldn't have released them

[phuqueue]

My argument is very clear and has been for months... scratch that, years. A stadium in East Crossroads no doubt has immediate economic benefits. A stadium in East Village is better than Truman Sports Complex but will not deliver the same impact as one located in East Crossroads.

The Crossroads neighborhood is over 350 acres and we're talking about directly changing 15 acres. So yes, I'm sure there would be some changes in the immediate vicinity that is currently, mostly under utilized but in totality, the neighborhood as a whole will not dramatically change and will still need much of that organic growth that is so often promoted in here.

If your concern is not seeing the city cannibalize itself, East Crossroads makes much more sense.

If the neighborhood as a whole barely changes outside of the land directly appropriated for stadium construction, it's hard to see how the stadium provided all that much economic benefit. You're talking out of both sides of your mouth here.

No I'm not. It's only logical to assume that many businesses and properties in close proximity to the stadium itself would see increased economic outcomes while those that are several blocks away would perhaps see less. The stadium would open and become part of the existing area on day one, but wouldn't change all 350 acres of East Village day one.

Some people are tying to argue this would "ruin" Crossroads as a whole and stifle the slow albeit legitimate organic growth. That's just not true.

What I'm talking about is the fact it would have major economic benefits without destroying and severally hampering the ongoing organic growth of the larger Crossroads art district.

If that's talking out of both sides of mouth, so be it.

Who's talking about "day one"? What a weird and arbitrary limitation to place on the discussion. To those who are worried that a stadium will change the neighborhood, don't worry, that won't happen until sometime after day two at earliest. I'm on record as skeptical of the economic/development impact of stadiums in the first place, so maybe it's not worthwhile to get too deep into this, but I couldn't help but call out the double talk. How do you suppose this economic impact is going to materialize if not in tangible changes to the neighborhood?

[KC_Ari]

They were even labeled "for visual depiction only" but yeah overall semantics. Definitely trying to show location and blocking more than the building itself.

It was very poorly liked building by everyone and for good reason. Shouldn't have released them

They really shouldn't have. Especially alongside the NKC drawings. Those NKC drawings blew the EV site out of the water. It wasnt close. And that really took the wind out of the sails for the EV. Even with the NKC site being a poor location.

The NKC site was never going to happen. The numbers for the requested tax from NKC/Clay were never going to work out. The EV site was always supposed to be the favorite concept and it just wasn't. So when the general populus didn't get excited for the EV, the entire Royals stadium rollout just sort of flopped. They desperately needed something to get people excited. Thus the reintroduction of the Crossroads.

The Crossroads site is sexy, provided the concept is nailed (please be art deco), and familar. The Royals are hinging on the tax extension passing the general population. I know we can argue on here for days and weeks about nuances between which site, between EV and EC, is better for downtown or how each site fills a different urban niche to build momentum heading into 2030; The reality is the Royals want the tax and to get that they need three things: Exciting well recieved renders of a site, a good Chiefs playoff run, and a strong start to the MLB season.

[dnweava]

Owner of the Star Building was on the news again tonight showing yet another drawing of the stadium between grand and oak.

They also interviewed Matt Abbott who owns 50 properties in the crossroads. He said he’d love to talk to the royals and discuss the plan.

Those drawings were a joke. My terrible AF paint drawings are miles better. It was literally just Wrigley Field plopped on the site and overlapping roads and buildings...

[TheUrbanRoo]

Yep. Like i said earlier, when they dropped those EV renderings is what fucked them. People like me were all on board until they poisoned that well.

[GRID]

Yep. Like i said earlier, when they dropped those EV renderings is what fucked them. People like me were all on board until they poisoned that well.

Especially after the second time around when they basically just re-released the original renderings even after a year of feedback.

[dnweava]

When I watching the Chiefs game last night and they showed some aerial shots of downtown looking over the crossroads looking down Grand, I couldn't help but imagine how good that shot would have looked with the new stadium in it. Western Auto in the foreground, lit up baseball stadium in the middle, and the skyline in the background and all the buildings lit up red for the Chiefs game.

[DColeKC]

Matt Abbott who is likely the biggest property owner in all of Crossroads owning 50 properties.

“The option of coming to The Kansas City Star site, it’s really the epicenter of what this community has built over the last 20 years,” Abbott Properties Owner Matt Abbott said in an interview with FOX4 Friday.

“I would want our tenants to be treated respectfully and fairly, and I’d personally want to, if they were impacted negatively by the stadium, I’d personally want to try and help relocate them,” he said.