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Crossroads stadium is 'what's best for Kansas City,' property owner says

The proposed Royals stadium would require the demolition of six blocks in the Crossroads Art District, including this row of businesses along Grand Street. Jackson County voters will decide in April whether to subsidize the project with a sales tax.
Scott Canon
/
Kansas City Beacon
The proposed Royals stadium would require the demolition of six blocks in the Crossroads Art District, including this row of businesses along Grand Street. Jackson County voters will decide in April whether to subsidize the project with a sales tax.

Business owners in the teardown zone of the Royals' proposed Crossroads baseball stadium will be forced to relocate if voters approve the 3/8th-cent sales tax on the April 2 ballot. While the location has upset some property owners and tenants in the area, others say it's good for the neighborhood.

Kris Koenig operates an AirBNB out of a building on the 1500 block of Oak Street. The building is also home to Koenig and will be torn down if Jackson County voters approve the 3/8th-cent sales tax on the April 2 ballot.

Business at the location is good, considering the close proximity to the T-Mobile Center, and replicating the success could be difficult, Koenig told Up To Date.

In spite of the potential loss of his home and business, Koenig supports the Royals Crossroads stadium.

"I think it makes sense and unfortunately, it means that I need to move," Koenig said. "But at the end of the day, I think it's what's best for Kansas City."

Some critics say the new stadium will disrupt the character of the Arts District, but for Matt Abbott — who owns multiple properties in the Crossroads, including two businesses within the footprint of the proposed stadium — he sees the downtown stadium as an added benefit to area.

"What I believe it does is it actually brings people that don't know much about the Crossroads Arts District down and invites them to explore the neighborhood and get to know the neighborhood even more," Abbott said. "So I see it as a huge draw for the Crossroads."

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When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
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