Since 1973, Kauffman Stadium has been the heart and soul of the Kansas City Royals. Every swing and cheer has woven a tale of baseball glory and unwavering fan devotion.
Situated in the heart of Jackson County, Kauffman Stadium has been the site of many historic moments. From George Brett and the 1985 World Series run to the back-to-back World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015, “The K” has been a cornerstone to the culture of Kansas City.
Recently, however, it has been proposed that the Royals abandon the longstanding legacy of the Jackson County landmark in favor of a more urbanized approach in the Kansas City Crossroads.
As has been seen in cities like New York City, there is potential for success with a city-based stadium. It works there, why wouldn’t it work here in Kansas City?
The answer is simple; KC is not New York City.
In contrast to the metropolis that is NYC, Kansas City is sorely underprepared for a stadium smack dab in the center of Downtown.
The city simply doesn’t have the infrastructure to support it. New York City has a highly developed public transportation system with their subway network where we have a streetcar system that is barely out of its infancy.
With the construction set to finish ahead of the 2028 MLB season, that only gives the city four years to achieve what New York has taken 120 years to successfully implement and perfect.
“Our area just isn’t made for it,” said UMKC student Erica Green, “All this will do is make more of a traffic issue from lack of parking and [public transportation] infrastructure.”
How can this be? Looking at RideKC’s route map, it seems that there is fairly decent coverage of the city by the bus line.
However, in a 2023 KC Star article, proponents for a better system say that the wait time for a bus sits around 45 minutes. This is up from a national average of 10 minutes, according to the Department of Transportation’s National Household Travel Survey.
Students aren’t the only ones who see issues with the project, either. KC Tenants, a local group focused on renter rights, has concerns as well.
In an interview with the Kansas City Star, KC Tenants elaborated that the building of this stadium would further push rises in rent as well as accelerate gentrification in the surrounding area.
Above the previous points, though, this stadium project will kill a vital part of Kansas City’s identity.
As it stands, the stadium project would push out more than a dozen small businesses, including multiple minority owned establishments. In a city that has historically prided itself on being a cultural melting pot, this seems like an inherently bad move.
Despite promises from the Royals organization, promising to improve transportation and keep people employed, the entire project just doesn’t seem feasible.
In a world where we need to retain culture as much as possible, the proposed stadium will be a monument to gentrification and a message that what those in power want is worth more than what we, the people, want.
As the plan pushes forward and unrest grows within our community, all we can do is wait and hope that those with the power to prevent this terrible plan step up to do so.
