A Kansas City Royals survey that started going out to thousands of fans this week touches on prospective locations for new stadiums, and Overland Park is in the mix.
The team announced on Monday that fans would start receiving the survey via email and over the phone, which will cover a range of topics, including television broadcasts, the team in general and the “gameday experience.”
Fans who receive the survey will also be asked about three proposed locations for a new ballpark and associated development: Downtown/Near Downtown, Clay County/North Kansas City and Johnson County/Overland Park.
“We are constantly engaging with and listening to our fans,” said John Sherman, Royals chairman and CEO, in a news release. “Their feedback is a crucial part of how we present our games in person or through television and other media. Their voices will also play an important and meaningful role as we determine where we play games for the next 50 years. We’re grateful for their support and help.”
Overland Park named as possible Royals stadium home before
Overland Park has been floated a few times in the past several months as a possible home for a new Royals stadium, as the team looks to move out of Kauffman Stadium when its lease expires in January 2031.
The mixed-use Aspiria campus near 119th Street and Nall Avenue, though not specifically named in the survey, has been one location named as a potential spot.
A Royals affiliate acquired the mortgage on the 200-acre site earlier this year, but Wichita-based Occidental Management still owns the campus, according to county land records.
Over the summer, the Royals and Occidental said the discussions between the team and the developer were ongoing. For now, the approved plans for Aspiria are for mixed-use development focused primarily on housing, retail, dining, entertainment and a hotel.
At the same time, attempts to woo the Royals and the Chiefs on both sides of the state line with varying incentive packages have reignited old economic development border war tensions.
The prospect of putting a new Royals stadium in Overland Park has become something of a flashpoint in the mayoral race this year, as Mayor Curt Skoog seeks reelection and his former Overland Park City Council colleague Faris Farassati challenges him.
Skoog has said he is open to the idea of having the stadium in Overland Park and could see the city offering incentives to support the project.
“We know the Chiefs and Royals belong in the Kansas City region and will do everything in our power to keep them here,” Skoog said previously.
Farassati has forcefully opposed any plans for the team to move to Overland Park and has been an ardent critic of tax incentives for development more generally.
Thousands of fans will be asked to take the Royals survey
Sam Mellinger, vice president of communications for the Royals, told the Post that the Royals send out surveys to the fans with some regularity during the season, and the team often sends out additional surveys in the offseason.
“Those lines of communication are constantly open and very important for us,” he said.
Mellinger said this most recent survey started going out to thousands of the team’s fans Monday afternoon. It will be available to season ticket holders and fans who attended a certain quantity of games in the past few seasons.
He estimated that it would take about 15 to 18 minutes to complete over the phone, and that it is likely to take less time to complete online. The deadline to complete the survey is unclear.
Additionally, Mellinger stressed that the survey going out to fans this week is about more than just the future Royals stadium location.
“There’s stuff in there about our broadcast, there’s stuff in there about the team on the field, the investment from ownership,” he said. “There’s other stuff in there that’s going to be important for us to hear some feedback and some opinions.”
This story was originally published by the Johnson County Post.
