Downtown Baseball Stadium

[DColeKC]

I dig it. Only negatives I see if the fact it's taking up currently utilized green space that downtown needs compared to other sites that are underutilized or crappy parking lots.

There is zero utilization of this green space apart from the people living there

Well, it's a park right? Irish fest and a few other festivals utilize the space as well. Not sure there's a bunch of utilization but zero???

[normalthings]

I also feel like replacing midtown crossing with a stadium would be cool. Especially since the tram would be finished by that point

WSP is close to many existing garages, major roads & highways, and the streetcar. There are around 2000 existing rooms within .1 miles of the site.
The surrounding land is mostly developed, etc. I see little risk that an island of parking lots is created or supported by this development. The "pre-dug" nature of WSP would save significant earth removal costs over any other location.


I thought about MM but am worried that we would see a sea of parking lots spring up, especially to the east. It also lacks infrastructure outside of the streetcar.

[normalthings]

I dig it. Only negatives I see if the fact it's taking up currently utilized green space that downtown needs compared to other sites that are underutilized or crappy parking lots.

There is zero utilization of this green space apart from the people living there

Well, it's a park right? Irish fest and a few other festivals utilize the space as well. Not sure there's a bunch of utilization but zero???

Soccer Stadium leaves most of the park (likely as a redeveloped pedestrian plaza). It would elevate the Irish Fest experience.

[Highlander]

There is zero utilization of this green space apart from the people living there

Well, it's a park right? Irish fest and a few other festivals utilize the space as well. Not sure there's a bunch of utilization but zero???

Soccer Stadium leaves most of the park (likely as a redeveloped pedestrian plaza). It would elevate the Irish Fest experience.

You could leave a lot of Washington Park intact by simply moving the proposed baseball stadium further north. That would eat up some of the "Game Day Plaza" but there would be some room for that preserved in the NE of the block because the railroad on the west side is the limiting factor on how far north a stadium could be placed. While Washington Park doesn't get much utilization, that's a function of it being very isolated from anyone who would use it except maybe the workers at Blue Cross/Blue Shield. It could still be a viable park especially if the US/CC link would descend to ground level in the park - which might not be a bad idea if the stadium was actually placed in that location. Last I heard, BC/BS was looking for a new building in the area so that building may lose its primary tenant in the foreseeable future. It's a cliché in KC but parking would be an issue here. Perhaps some could be associated in the Game Day Plaza. Helps that it's on the streetcar line.

As an aside, I would hope BC/BS would be looking at the Waddell Reed building as part of their search.

[DColeKC]

There is zero utilization of this green space apart from the people living there

Well, it's a park right? Irish fest and a few other festivals utilize the space as well. Not sure there's a bunch of utilization but zero???

Soccer Stadium leaves most of the park (likely as a redeveloped pedestrian plaza). It would elevate the Irish Fest experience.

I like it. I wish the site next to T-Mobile arena was big enough to hold a soccer stadium.

[beautyfromashes]

Here, here! for the soccer stadium idea. It might be the best I've heard on here for awhile.

[Chris Stritzel]

Great spot for a soccer stadium. But is there even any chance what so ever that the team leaves the current stadium in the next 10 years minimum?

Anything is possible in the world of professional sports. But in this case, I doubt Sporting would leave their current home for a new Stadium this soon. The average life span of a sports stadium is 50 years. Children's Mercy Park has been open for only 10. If they did leave this early on, or about 20 years after the stadium opened, it would probably involve a whole lot of incentives as sort of a "bribe" to get them to move.

I'm not saying it's impossible, especially considering the fact that moving the Stadium to a more centralized location in the heart of the City where a younger fanbase is probably be more inclined to attend a game as they could use the Streetcar, Bikes, Scooters and other methods of transportation instead of dishing out high-cost parking rates and being stuck in after came vehicle traffic. Same goes for a Downtown Baseball stadium. Moving stadiums into popular and up-and-coming neighborhoods in the cities rather than former cornfields in the suburbs could prove to be an overall positive for the fanbase in the long run.

[normalthings]

Great spot for a soccer stadium. But is there even any chance what so ever that the team leaves the current stadium in the next 10 years minimum?

Anything is possible in the world of professional sports. But in this case, I doubt Sporting would leave their current home for a new Stadium this soon. The average life span of a sports stadium is 50 years. Children's Mercy Park has been open for only 10. If they did leave this early on, or about 20 years after the stadium opened, it would probably involve a whole lot of incentives as sort of a "bribe" to get them to move.

I'm not saying it's impossible, especially considering the fact that moving the Stadium to a more centralized location in the heart of the City where a younger fanbase is probably be more inclined to attend a game as they could use the Streetcar, Bikes, Scooters and other methods of transportation instead of dishing out high-cost parking rates and being stuck in after came vehicle traffic. Same goes for a Downtown Baseball stadium. Moving stadiums into popular and up-and-coming neighborhoods in the cities rather than former cornfields in the suburbs could prove to be an overall positive for the fanbase in the long run.

The average NFL stadium is less than 20 years old. There are top 10 oldest stadiums around 24 years old. Sporting Holds 18,000 in a league building 26-28,000 seat stadiums in peer cities.

[Chris Stritzel]

The average NFL stadium is less than 20 years old. There are top 10 oldest stadiums around 24 years old. Sporting Holds 18,000 in a league building 26-28,000 seat stadiums in peer cities.

Is Sporting's Stadium set up to be expanded in the future like some MLS Stadiums are? That could increase capacity and become more in line with some other clubs. Wikipedia lists 17 out of 26 stadiums as having capacity of over 20,000 with all 5 future stadiums having over 20,000. So to bring Children's Mercy Park up to the 20,000 seat range, it would make sense if they designed it to be expanded in the future if the need arose.

Edit: Also, one of the criteria for new soccer stadiums is that they have to be close to public transit, which would be beneficial for approval by the MLS if Sporting decided to move to somewhere along the Streetcar route. Although, not all stadiums meet this criteria piece.

[WoodDraw]

Sporting always should have been downtown. It's the heart of the of KC soccer community. Obviously power and light for big events, but there are watch parties all over at different bars for different teams.

Having international matches there would be super fun too. Some of my favorite memories are international tournaments or even friendlies, getting drunk with people from other countries. But you have to be in a city with streets and bars.

We' threw it up in the middle of nowhere where it's impossible to create atmosphere as always

[normalthings]

Chris interesting note about the public transit requirement.

NextRail had an option for the Linwood streetcar to come directly to Crown Center. That being the case, 5 minute headway’s on both lines would be able to move 10,000 fans to/from the stadium in an hour.

It’s about a 2600’ walk from the stadium to the non-season ticket holder parking lot at Children’s Mercy Park. Downtown that equates to all of the Crown Center garages, Union Station Garage, and Freight House garage. An extra 500’ and you’re at the Kauffman Garage.

Parking Space Count: 4,000 existing and 2,000 new @ 2.5 fans/vehicle = 15,000 fans

Union Station: 1500
Crown Center: 1500? (Probably a lot more)
Kauffman: 1,000
New Onsite Garage: 2000

A shuttle to P&L obviously opens up like 5,000 more spaces (PL, Copaken’s,etc)

[Chris Stritzel]

Chris interesting note about the public transit requirement.

NextRail had an option for the Linwood streetcar to come directly to Crown Center. That being the case, 5 minute headway’s on both lines would be able to move 10,000 fans to/from the stadium in an hour.

It’s about a 2600’ walk from the stadium to the non-season ticket holder parking lot at Children’s Mercy Park. Downtown that equates to all of the Crown Center garages, Union Station Garage, and Freight House garage. An extra 500’ and you’re at the Kauffman Garage.

Parking Space Count: 4,000 existing and 2,000 new @ 2.5 fans/vehicle = 15,000 fans

Union Station: 1500
Crown Center: 1500? (Probably a lot more)
Kauffman: 1,000
New Onsite Garage: 2000

A shuttle to P&L obviously opens up like 5,000 more spaces (PL, Copaken’s,etc)

There’s plenty of parking in the Downtown area to support events that would happen simultaneously at the TMobile Center and a user-conceptual soccer stadium at Washington Square Park. According to the City website, there are 40,000 parking spaces in the Downtown area. While the City website doesn’t detail the total from Downtown to the Plaza, it’s safe to say that there’s plenty of parking for everyone.
https://www.kcmo.gov/city-hall/departme ... arksmartkc

[WoodDraw]

I wonder what the average age of a supporter there looks like too. My guess is that they're both more willing and capable of walking downtown.

I don't think you'd have a cultural backlash here to urban life the way the other teams here would. It's a demographic that I bet is fairly used to being downtown, ubering, and using the streetcar.

[Walker]

This would pair well with the proposed Freight House village project. A new pedestrian bridge could be constructed to connect the soccer stadium with the Crossroads. I think one was floated during one of the mid 2010's plans. The Podium tower could be expanded to fit BCBS.


Edit: Found it. All 3 plans presented at KCDowntowners had a pedestrian bridge.

[TheSmokinPun]

Sporting always should have been downtown. It's the heart of the of KC soccer community. Obviously power and light for big events, but there are watch parties all over at different bars for different teams.

Having international matches there would be super fun too. Some of my favorite memories are international tournaments or even friendlies, getting drunk with people from other countries. But you have to be in a city with streets and bars.

We' threw it up in the middle of nowhere where it's impossible to create atmosphere as always

Didn't really have a choice at the time.

And with the stadium out there, still have two teams they can keep in there to keep it in use. Would probably benefit good PR by just handing the NWSL one of the best stadiums.

But I'd say this is 100% happening in the next few years. They would have started the additions 5 years after the stadium was built in roughly 2016 & it never happened.

[Walker]

Sporting always should have been downtown. It's the heart of the of KC soccer community. Obviously power and light for big events, but there are watch parties all over at different bars for different teams.

Having international matches there would be super fun too. Some of my favorite memories are international tournaments or even friendlies, getting drunk with people from other countries. But you have to be in a city with streets and bars.

We' threw it up in the middle of nowhere where it's impossible to create atmosphere as always

But I'd say this is 100% happening in the next few years. They would have started the additions 5 years after the stadium was built in roughly 2016 & it never happened.

Agreed. Every Sporting KC game/season has sold out. The international games also sell out. Scrolling through the archives, there was a 5,000 person waitlist to get season tickets around 2016. If Sporting KC wanted to expand in KCK, they would have already.

[normalthings]

Downtown Soccer stadiums really make one go boing


Opened (Photo)



Under Construction (Rendering)



Design Died (Rendering)

[AlkaliAxel]

I would be happy to see an entertainment district built in their place. Add some hotels and density. Eventually shoot towards connecting the grid back. While I would rather see all teams downtown I realize that tailgating is such a big aspect of football here it probably won’t happen.

Royals downtown makes sense though, probably would make it more attractive for tourists. I know plenty of people that check out sports games in cities they visit if they are accessible, and putting it in the middle of downtown by hotels would definitely make it more accessible.

I honestly think part pf the reason "tailgating" is such a big thing here in KC stadiums is because we have it in a parking lot in the middle of a damn field. So we kinda have no choice but to tailgate. It's not like there are any restaurants or other options nearby than the just sitting in the middle of nowhere, so people might as well bring a grill. I feel like if we went downtown like most other cities have theirs, the tailgating culture might quickly be forgotten. I think it's just that there's not much else to do and people don't have much else of a choice (which is actually a big reason to move downtown so they have more choices)

[DColeKC]

Chiefs aren’t leaving arrowhead for several decades if ever. Royals will move downtown sooner than later and it makes zero sense to build anything near arrowhead like an entertainment district. Start with the fact there’s only a handful of home games per year and add in that KC is one of the lowest concession buying markets in all of the NFL due to tailgating. No developer is taking on that project. Football stadiums are meant to be a bit more isolated compared to baseball.

There would be complete outrage if either team crossed the state line. Sporting is trying to get over to the Missouri side.

[kboish]

... ... Sporting is trying to get over to the Missouri side.

Good!

How do you know this? What else can you tell us?