Downtown Baseball Stadium

[chingon]

Bi-state on top of Baby Doe's. If they can put high end residential on top of mines at Briarcliff, they can sink piers below the mines to anchor a ball park.

It had occurred to me too, but there's not enough room for getting into and out of.

[DaveKCMO]

I’m not opposed to East Village. I’d like for the stadium to go there. I’ve said for a while now, but the issues with it make me think it’ll be a heavier lift than the Crossroads site. If the team, and city, can get something done, then do it.

Except EC literally failed a public vote. Not sure how that's really salvageable. And to those who believe it is, show me local precedent.

Also: https://kccrossroads.org/proposed-baseball-stadium/

Effective immediately, the CCA will begin a strategic planning and engagement effort to prepare for any future consideration of an East Crossroads stadium.

CCA will host a community discussion dedicated to creating a strategic plan that reflects our collective commitment to the cultural and economic prosperity of the Crossroads Arts District, in all its forms. The focus will include:

Crossroads Community Improvement District: We are committed to completing the process of establishing the CCID to ensure the sustainability of the CCA’s goals and objectives.
Attracting and Retaining Locally Owned Small Businesses: Formulating strategies to nurture and retain the small businesses that contribute to our district’s unique charm and economic health.
Elevating First Fridays: Strengthening our iconic event to further spotlight our artists and small businesses.
Empowering Artists and Arts Organizations: Building support systems for local artists and the organizations that back them, affirming the Crossroads as a leading arts hub.
Enhancing Neighborhood Walkability: Emphasizing the importance of pedestrian-friendly spaces to maintain and enhance the area’s accessibility and allure.
Restoring and Repurposing Historic Buildings: Initiatives to preserve the architectural heritage and cultural identity of the Crossroads.

[Chris Stritzel]

I’m not opposed to East Village. I’d like for the stadium to go there. I’ve said for a while now, but the issues with it make me think it’ll be a heavier lift than the Crossroads site. If the team, and city, can get something done, then do it.

Except EC literally failed a public vote. Not sure how that's really salvageable. And to those who believe it is, show me local precedent.

It's salvageable in the way that there is a roadmap for success here.
- Keep Oak open
- Reengage with the crossroads neighborhood and sign the agreement again (instead of on the absolute last day).
- Promise to preserve most buildings east of Oak and aid in the moving of most businesses from Grand (minus Prime and Temptations) to new homes east of Oak.
- Alter the design of the stadium a bit to better fit the neighborhood and promote year-round activity.
- Redesign the mixed-use components east of the stadium to support year-round activity.

These aren't difficult things to lean into and accomplish. Just because one vote failed doesn't mean a second would. If I were in charge, I'd choose the Crossroads site again and roll with the changes I just mentioned and see what happens. The neighborhood is not better off with the empty printing press and several parking lots in the area bound by Truman, Oak, 17th and Grand.

The one problem I have with the "Save the Crossroads" people was, and still is, their belief that the stadium would've negatively affected the neighborhood. If the mixed-use stuff east of Oak was removed from consideration, or altered to be what I said it should be, they would have no standing in their claims. Instead, if you listened to what they were saying, you'd think this stadium was being plopped down at the intersection of 19th and Main. We all know that wasn't the case, but some honestly thought this was the end of the Crossroads and would've destroyed it.

Outside of the stadium, this sent a message to some developers I know and they're backing away from the Crossroads for the foreseeable future. This doesn't mean all developers. Just the 3 of the 4 I know. The message they received from this ordeal is that after a winning streak, it's been broken by those afraid of change. Only one developer I know is still playing around with his idea.

[DaveKCMO]

The development history of the Crossroads tells another story. Lots of adaptive reuse. (Relatively) lots of new multifamily construction. Hot office submarket (pre-COVID). Best restaurants in the city. One of the country's top hotels (which is adaptive reuse). Lively brewery/distillery scene. Arguable the most walkable neighborhood in KC.

We'll be fine, except for the footprint of the stadium which is now permanently marked. See also East Village and South Loop.

[DColeKC]

The development history of the Crossroads tells another story. Lots of adaptive reuse. (Relatively) lots of new multifamily construction. Hot office submarket (pre-COVID). Best restaurants in the city. One of the country's top hotels (which is adaptive reuse). Lively brewery/distillery scene. Arguable the most walkable neighborhood in KC.

We'll be fine, except for the footprint of the stadium which is now permanently marked. See also East Village and South Loop.

Remove the need for a public vote and this site still makes sense. Although I know you want to save the star building.

[KCPowercat]

My dream site remains the Manual Tech/ATA site: there's an entertainment district already built, that we already subsidize. It's investment on the east side, the Negro Leagues history is there, it would bridge the Crossroads to East Side gap, there's room to include parking structures in the plan, the land is easily attainable and the uses are largely poor, there's 2 highways and 2 6-lane roads converging there, not a single resident would be displaced, and it would be easily served by good transit with little outlay. How can no one see this?

From one glorious view of I70 to another glorious view of I70.

We have to quit worrying about outfield views. It's so unimportant. Case in point royals wanted a stadium with at&t building as the backdrop. So lucky they aren't being this vein.

[DaveKCMO]

The development history of the Crossroads tells another story. Lots of adaptive reuse. (Relatively) lots of new multifamily construction. Hot office submarket (pre-COVID). Best restaurants in the city. One of the country's top hotels (which is adaptive reuse). Lively brewery/distillery scene. Arguable the most walkable neighborhood in KC.

We'll be fine, except for the footprint of the stadium which is now permanently marked. See also East Village and South Loop.

Remove the need for a public vote and this site still makes sense. Although I know you want to save the star building.

It doesn't make sense to enough people, though. So best to just move on unless you've really got the time and energy to engage and commit to doing things differently. On top of the botched roll out, the rug being pulled out at the last minute didn't help -- not to mention skeezy things like offering us opening day tickets during negotiations or asking when First Fridays occur. We even had you-know-who ask us for our membership list. True stories!

A lot of captured energy in Star press pavilion, which is actually quite beautiful despite being a disaster at the ground level. Would be a phenomenal waste of resources to demolish.

[beautyfromashes]

A lot of captured energy in Star press pavilion, which is actually quite beautiful despite being a disaster at the ground level. Would be a phenomenal waste of resources to demolish.

I’ve felt this too though thought I was probably the only one. People need to have more vision for reusing buildings.

[WoodDraw]

The development history of the Crossroads tells another story. Lots of adaptive reuse. (Relatively) lots of new multifamily construction. Hot office submarket (pre-COVID). Best restaurants in the city. One of the country's top hotels (which is adaptive reuse). Lively brewery/distillery scene. Arguable the most walkable neighborhood in KC.

We'll be fine, except for the footprint of the stadium which is now permanently marked. See also East Village and South Loop.

Remove the need for a public vote and this site still makes sense. Although I know you want to save the star building.

It doesn't make sense to enough people, though. So best to just move on unless you've really got the time and energy to engage and commit to doing things differently. On top of the botched roll out, the rug being pulled out at the last minute didn't help -- not to mention skeezy things like offering us opening day tickets during negotiations or asking when First Fridays occur. We even had you-know-who ask us for our membership list. True stories!

A lot of captured energy in Star press pavilion, which is actually quite beautiful despite being a disaster at the ground level. Would be a phenomenal waste of resources to demolish.

My concern was never with the star either, but there was no engagement.

My concern was what happens to to the surrounding area. I wanted to make sure it wouldn't remain parking for the foreseeable future. I had questions about the street closures and the Truman stuff.

I said before that why I liked the ev was because I could see a quality hill style development built around a stadium. They promised investment, which I always thought was fake, but the idea of it was nice.

When Q and cordish got involved and said we can just build to the crossroads and you don't have to invest in the neighborhood, just in buying a few people, and protecting the district, they lost me.

[DColeKC]

My dream site remains the Manual Tech/ATA site: there's an entertainment district already built, that we already subsidize. It's investment on the east side, the Negro Leagues history is there, it would bridge the Crossroads to East Side gap, there's room to include parking structures in the plan, the land is easily attainable and the uses are largely poor, there's 2 highways and 2 6-lane roads converging there, not a single resident would be displaced, and it would be easily served by good transit with little outlay. How can no one see this?

From one glorious view of I70 to another glorious view of I70.

We have to quit worrying about outfield views. It's so unimportant. Case in point royals wanted a stadium with at&t building as the backdrop. So lucky they aren't being this vein.

This is one of your worst opinions you’ve consistently held. Views matter. You think Petco would be the gem it is with a view of nothing but interstate? I’m not saying it’s at the top of the list but when investing over a billion dollars it better be top of mind.

[WoodDraw]

From one glorious view of I70 to another glorious view of I70.

We have to quit worrying about outfield views. It's so unimportant. Case in point royals wanted a stadium with at&t building as the backdrop. So lucky they aren't being this vein.

This is one of your worst opinions you’ve consistently held. Views matter. You think Petco would be the gem it is with a view of nothing but interstate? I’m not saying it’s at the top of the list but when investing over a billion dollars it better be top of mind.

You know they explored this. They ended up with a few options.

When you build in urban areas it's not what you build, but what will surround you. It's everything they got wrong.

[DColeKC]

The development history of the Crossroads tells another story. Lots of adaptive reuse. (Relatively) lots of new multifamily construction. Hot office submarket (pre-COVID). Best restaurants in the city. One of the country's top hotels (which is adaptive reuse). Lively brewery/distillery scene. Arguable the most walkable neighborhood in KC.

We'll be fine, except for the footprint of the stadium which is now permanently marked. See also East Village and South Loop.

Remove the need for a public vote and this site still makes sense. Although I know you want to save the star building.

It doesn't make sense to enough people, though. So best to just move on unless you've really got the time and energy to engage and commit to doing things differently. On top of the botched roll out, the rug being pulled out at the last minute didn't help -- not to mention skeezy things like offering us opening day tickets during negotiations or asking when First Fridays occur. We even had you-know-who ask us for our membership list. True stories!

A lot of captured energy in Star press pavilion, which is actually quite beautiful despite being a disaster at the ground level. Would be a phenomenal waste of resources to demolish.

But only a small amount of people voted no because of the location or because they cared to save this area of the crossroads. Many things contributed to losing but same site, more information, better collaboration, signed agreements further out and a far better campaign would get the yes vote but they don’t need that.

I know we will disagree but if this stadium doesn’t go in EC, it will be the single biggest missed opportunity for the area in its entire history. Sure, the area “does fine” but this could have expedited that progress.

[DColeKC]

Remove the need for a public vote and this site still makes sense. Although I know you want to save the star building.

It doesn't make sense to enough people, though. So best to just move on unless you've really got the time and energy to engage and commit to doing things differently. On top of the botched roll out, the rug being pulled out at the last minute didn't help -- not to mention skeezy things like offering us opening day tickets during negotiations or asking when First Fridays occur. We even had you-know-who ask us for our membership list. True stories!

A lot of captured energy in Star press pavilion, which is actually quite beautiful despite being a disaster at the ground level. Would be a phenomenal waste of resources to demolish.

My concern was never with the star either, but there was no engagement.

My concern was what happens to to the surrounding area. I wanted to make sure it wouldn't remain parking for the foreseeable future. I had questions about the street closures and the Truman stuff.

I said before that why I liked the ev was because I could see a quality hill style development built around a stadium. They promised investment, which I always thought was fake, but the idea of it was nice.

When Q and cordish got involved and said we can just build to the crossroads and you don't have to invest in the neighborhood, just in buying a few people, and protecting the district, they lost me.

That’s not what happened. Once again.

They still were going to invest the same amount. They were still going to build entertainment, residential properties and more. The only thing that changed was the location and some of the programming of the village. It was never about doing less, it was about doing more and integrating better with existing neighborhoods. We don’t need to create a new one when we can improve existing ones.

I get it, you don’t like Cordish and want to somehow place blame on them for this but stop lying about something you have zero credibility on.

[KCPowercat]

From one glorious view of I70 to another glorious view of I70.

We have to quit worrying about outfield views. It's so unimportant. Case in point royals wanted a stadium with at&t building as the backdrop. So lucky they aren't being this vein.

This is one of your worst opinions you’ve consistently held. Views matter. You think Petco would be the gem it is with a view of nothing but interstate? I’m not saying it’s at the top of the list but when investing over a billion dollars it better be top of mind.

Yes. Petco would be the same. Wrigley is awesome. Yankees stadium. Fenway. Coors. Cleveland. These are fun urban stadiums and the "view" from home plate has 0 to do with it. It naturally fills in sure but you don't pick a location due to the backdrop. If you did the Royals wouldn't have picked ugly AT&T building location. It's just idiotic to even consider that as a factor to the location of a baseball stadium. I'm sure people in meetings talked about it you'll tell us and sure they may have. They didn't move to crossroads due to the view.

[DColeKC]

We have to quit worrying about outfield views. It's so unimportant. Case in point royals wanted a stadium with at&t building as the backdrop. So lucky they aren't being this vein.

This is one of your worst opinions you’ve consistently held. Views matter. You think Petco would be the gem it is with a view of nothing but interstate? I’m not saying it’s at the top of the list but when investing over a billion dollars it better be top of mind.

Yes. Petco would be the same. Wrigley is awesome. Yankees stadium. Fenway. Coors. Cleveland. These are fun urban stadiums and the "view" from home plate has 0 to do with it. It naturally fills in sure but you don't pick a location due to the backdrop. If you did the Royals wouldn't have picked ugly AT&T building location. It's just idiotic to even consider that as a factor to the location of a baseball stadium. I'm sure people in meetings talked about it you'll tell us and sure they may have. They didn't move to crossroads due to the view.

I didn’t say they picked EC simply because of its view and once again you think the worlds best sports architecture firm are idiots. The AT&T building would have been mostly blocked by new development. Building number 1 actually.

8 out of the top 10 mlb parks have great views. But sure, views are idiotic when spending money on something people come to view a game and enjoy an experience.

[WoodDraw]

It doesn't make sense to enough people, though. So best to just move on unless you've really got the time and energy to engage and commit to doing things differently. On top of the botched roll out, the rug being pulled out at the last minute didn't help -- not to mention skeezy things like offering us opening day tickets during negotiations or asking when First Fridays occur. We even had you-know-who ask us for our membership list. True stories!

A lot of captured energy in Star press pavilion, which is actually quite beautiful despite being a disaster at the ground level. Would be a phenomenal waste of resources to demolish.

My concern was never with the star either, but there was no engagement.

My concern was what happens to to the surrounding area. I wanted to make sure it wouldn't remain parking for the foreseeable future. I had questions about the street closures and the Truman stuff.

I said before that why I liked the ev was because I could see a quality hill style development built around a stadium. They promised investment, which I always thought was fake, but the idea of it was nice.

When Q and cordish got involved and said we can just build to the crossroads and you don't have to invest in the neighborhood, just in buying a few people, and protecting the district, they lost me.

That’s not what happened. Once again.

They still were going to invest the same amount. They were still going to build entertainment, residential properties and more. The only thing that changed was the location and some of the programming of the village. It was never about doing less, it was about doing more and integrating better with existing neighborhoods. We don’t need to create a new one when we can improve existing ones.

I get it, you don’t like Cordish and want to somehow place blame on them for this but stop lying about something you have zero credibility on.

I feel very confident about my information.

[WoodDraw]

Ftr, we can go through your posts where you confirmed it.

I'm very confident I know conversations happened which caused things to change with the people I said.

[beautyfromashes]

Ftr, we can go through your posts where you confirmed it.

I'm very confident I know conversations happened which caused things to change with the people I said.

Yep, they stuck their foot in the door and the Royals got mesmerized by a shiny ball that wasn't attainable.

[DColeKC]

Ftr, we can go through your posts where you confirmed it.

I'm very confident I know conversations happened which caused things to change with the people I said.

Anyone who reads the local media knows this. You don’t have any evidence or confidential information. I’m not implying conversations did not take place but you’re adding on your own (false) speculation that it was also a ploy to have the Royals not build anything besides the stadium. The investment levels and village portion were all included in the crossroads location.

Those now public conversations, one of which I’ve admitted on this forum I was present for, were not the sole reason for the site change. They didn’t even sit down with the Mayor and Cordish until they hit some very serious road blocks on East Village. This will all come out in time, once the lawyers get through it.

Conspiracy theories are cute though.

[WoodDraw]

I stand by everything I said.