Former Kansas City mayor Kay Barnes says she fully supports the Royals’ quest for a new stadium at Crown Center — a prospect made possible by the revitalization of downtown during her two terms in office.
When Barnes was elected in 1999, downtown Kansas City was filled with shuttered storefronts and empty parking lots. But by the time she left in 2007, Barnes had helped transform the city through economic development with projects that included the Power & Light District and Sprint Center (now known as the T-Mobile Center).
“As great as the additions have been, and how things are flourishing right now, we really can't stop on that,” Barnes told KCUR’s Up To Date. “That's one of the reasons I'm so excited about the partnership between Crown Center and the Royals.”
Efforts to move the baseball franchise out of Kauffman Stadium with public funding has been met with vocal opposition, especially by groups representing low-wage workers.
In 2024, Kansas City voters rejected a sales tax extension that would have helped fund a renovated Arrowhead Stadium and a new ballpark in the Crossroads Arts District.
Earlier this year, Kansas City Council bypassed a public vote and approved a more than $600 million bond package for the Royals, which will tap 30 years of anticipated tax revenue growth around the stadium to pay back construction costs. However, economists and public policy experts rejected the city’s projections as “propaganda,” and say the stadium will not generate enough new spending to pay for itself.
Notably, Kansas City has paid at least $162 million to cover debt from the Power & Light District, because the area’s revenues have consistently fallen short of what it needed to pay off its bonds.
“I think it's really important to remember that 2008 was when there was the great economic downturn, which had a very negative impact on what our initial projections were, so that was something that was totally out of our control,” Barnes said.
Workers’ rights groups continue to push for a public vote on the deal. On the April ballot, Kansas City voters will be asked if residents should get a say in city-funded stadiums and arenas. But Mayor Quinton Lucas said the outcome of the vote will not impact the current stadium deal.
Barnes said she supports city leadership's decision to bypass a public vote.
“I have confidence that the mayor and city council have gone through the necessary due diligence,” Barnes said.
In order to continue its growth, Barnes said that Kansas City must make major investments, and argues the new stadium will generate ancillary benefits that extend beyond Crown Center.
“We need to build on what we have. We need to continue to develop and redevelop,” Barnes said. “And when I look again at the partnership between Crown Center and the Royals, to me, it is a slam dunk.”
- Kay Barnes, former Kansas City mayor
