Kansas City Royals: 3 reasons team shouldn't move downtown

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There have been rumblings that under new owner John Sherman, the Kansas City Royals could relocate to downtown KC. How could that be a bad decision?

First and foremost, the Kansas City Royals aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. The lease the team has with Kauffman Stadium doesn’t expire until 2031. For at least the next 12 years, the only way to watch the Royals in-person will be to drive out to The K and do so.

With that said, the organization is undergoing an ownership change. In late August, David Glass reached a $1 billion deal with Kansas City native John Sherman to sell the club. Sherman has spoken highly of the downtown area, causing many to assume he’d be interested in potentially moving the team there.

As a whole, the Royals are in a transitional period as an organization. Ned Yost has retired, forcing the club to go hunt for a new manager. Once that skipper is hired, he’ll be tasked with developing young players that will (hopefully) turn into the next championship-level core. Heck, even Dayton Moore’s future with the team is uncertain.

Because of so many things being up in the air, it’s natural to wonder whether or not a change of location could be on the horizon. While on the surface this may seem like a cool idea to some, there are also some obstacles standing in the way. What are a few reasons moving downtown may not be the best idea?

This one might sound like a no-brainer, but there’s already a baseball team — and a stadium for it — in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Relocating a baseball team is one thing. Relocating it within the same city is.. something else.

Portland, Los Angeles and Montreal have been name-dropped in conversations about potential destinations for either expansion franchises or current teams relocating. If John Sherman is indeed interested in moving the Kansas City Royals away from Kauffman Stadium (not confirmed), uprooting them and starting fresh in another city would be a hot topic of conversation.

Luckily for the franchise, Sherman has a deep love for Kansas City and probably wouldn’t ever let that happen. Instead, though, a move to the downtown area would keep the Royals pretty close to where they’re already at. Is that worth it?

This is the most simple of the three reasons to not make this move. It’s entirely common for teams with outdated facilities to undergo renovations in an effort to keep up with the times. Twelve years ago, Kauffman Stadium made those exact kinds of improvements. When it’s time to decide whether or not to renew the team’s lease at Kauffman in 2031, those improvements will be nearly a quarter-century old, though.

On the other hand, as the old saying goes: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The current location seems to be working just fine, is surrounded by multiple major highways and offers plenty of parking options for fans. Going through the entire relocation process just to leave a fully-functional location for a place less than 30 minutes away may be viewed as a waste to some.

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

Building a new stadium is going to cost quite a bit of money. Taxpayers could be funding a chunk of it.

This is no secret, but building stadiums involves a ton of money. Regardless of the sport, facilities are going to cost a pretty penny. Heck, the recent Truman Sports Complex renovations came with a price tag of $625 million. It remains to be seen how much the construction of a new stadium, parking garages, etc. would cost but nevertheless, someone’s got to pay for it.

Most people don’t have a problem with their tax dollars going towards things such as schools, improved road construction, and the like. A huge part of the Jackson County population may have a bone to pick with the fact that their funds are being spent on a new baseball complex. There are several more pressing matters that could benefit from additional funding.

You probably already know this, but John Sherman has a lot of money. To people with that level of wealth, the cost of a downtown move is small given the opportunity to make a tremendous profit. Additionally, many have alluded to the potential for Kansas City to be put on the map as one of America’s up-and-coming towns if it had a downtown stadium.

Would the local economy benefit enough from this? What percentage of taxpayers would be on board with helping contribute to the cause? How about local business owners — is the chance for increased customer flow worth the process to get it? There are a lot of issues to iron out.

Are we truly ready to move away from historic Kauffman Stadium?

Kauffman Stadium has housed the Kansas City Royals since 1973. As things currently stand, The K is the sixth-oldest stadium in the MLB. With that history comes immense culture and plenty of memories. Kauffman’s age should have nothing to do with a potential move downtown. Given the recent renovations to the complex, things being outdated simply can’t be an issue.

Back to the memories. If the Royals leave Kauffman Stadium in 12 years, they’ll be leaving behind All-Star Games. They’ll be waving goodbye to fond memories of a ton of playoff games, including multiple World Series berths. From throwback stars like George Brett and Bret Saberhagen to recent faces of the franchise like Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez, their careers will have lived and died within the confines of Kauffman.

Kansas City is a very rich sports town with some of the most passionate fans in the world. They don’t take lightly to change and value tradition and history tremendously. John Sherman and his new regime may not feel the same exact way, which could ruffle some feathers. If the majority of the fanbase isn’t all-in, that’ll present a challenge.

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At the end of the day, there are plenty of hoops to jump through before the Royals move to the downtown KC area. When and if they do so, it will be just a short trip from Kauffman Stadium — a ballpark with one of the richest histories in the sport. Although 12 years sounds like a long time for Sherman and company to make up their minds, they better decide sooner rather than later.

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