Royals change stadium plan to keep Oak Street open to traffic, but fate of businesses is uncertain

Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter.

The Royals’ original plan was to place the team’s corporate offices and entertainment venues on Oak Street, which would close the main thoroughfare and demolish buildings that house about 10 businesses; the Royals intend to continue that district development but will alter plans to keep Oak Street open

The Royals announced the team is reworking its proposed Crossroads ballpark district to keep Oak Street open after pressure from Mayor Quinton Lucas, other city officials and the Crossroads community.

The Royals said they will alter their ballpark plan to keep Oak Street open to traffic. The team plans to continue with their development plans for that part of the stadium district — including a hotel, entertainment venue, and corporate offices. With Oak Street staying open, the fate of the pictured small businesses in the footprint remains uncertain; photo by Carlos Moreno, KCUR

The original stadium district design stretched east to west between Locust Street and Grand Boulevard and north to south from Truman Road to 17th Street.

In a statement, team owner John Sherman said the team made the decision in response to Lucas’ advocacy and conversations with city council to keep the thoroughfare open and “improve the ballpark district impact.”

“We acknowledge Oak Street is an integral part of the downtown experience, and therefore we agree to change the ballpark district design to keep Oak Street open,” Sherman said.

In a separate statement to KCUR, the Royals said the team wants to keep Oak Street accessible to pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.

“We have said all along that we are meeting with and listening to members of the Crossroads community, and this is an example of that work,” the team said. “We have always viewed our project as connecting downtown neighborhoods, and keeping this important artery open is consistent with that priority.”

For those wondering, even with a yes vote on ⚾️ and , Oak Street won’t be closing and Kansas City will not support any forced business closures by condemnation east of Oak Street.

We don’t control all. We do control our tools. We’re all here to build our city working together

— Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) March 27, 2024

The original proposed site map for the Royals stadium in the Crossroads. The Royals said Wednesday that they plan to move forward with the development on the eastern edge of the site — including a hotel, entertainment venue and the team’s corporate office — but will shift it to keep Oak Street open; image courtesy of Populous

The original plan placed part of the stadium, the team’s corporate office, a hotel and residential and entertainment venues along the Oak and Locust Street corridor.

A spokesperson for the team said the Royals will still move forward with the surrounding development but will alter the design to keep Oak Street open. He did not specify whether that still includes demolishing surrounding businesses.

The Crossroads Community Association is currently negotiating with the team for a community benefits agreement that would reduce lease pricing within the ballpark district, provide support to displaced businesses and implement traffic and parking management. No deal has been signed yet.

David Johnson, a board member for the association, said he supports the Royals’ latest decision. The group remains neutral on the April 2 vote to extend Jackson County’s existing 3/8th-cent sales tax to support the Royals’ new stadium and Chiefs’ renovation at Arrowhead.

“Oak provides critical access for all road users to destinations to the north and south, as well as access to many emerging small businesses located on the street itself,” Johnson said.

Today’s Oak announcement is a stellar example of why you do outreach *before* your plans are baked. We all have biases or lack details that we can only offset by hearing from others — especially those directly impacted by a change, big or small.

— David Johnson (@kclightrail) March 27, 2024

Jill Cockson, Chartreuse Saloon; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Jill Cockson owns Chartreuse Saloon on the corner of Oak and 17th Street and has been a vocal opponent of the Crossroads ballpark. She said the plan to keep Oak Street open gives her hope for her business.

However, Cockson said she’s still encouraging people to vote against the 3/8th-cent sales tax extension because the team changed its plan less than a week before the April 2 election, after voting has already begun.

“I think that the voters need to take this as a sign that they don’t know what they’re doing,” Cockson said. “They should go back to the drawing board and come back to the table with a plan that they actually communicate effectively in advance so that we can all know exactly what we’re voting on.”

Matthew Gude, general manager; Sarah Hoffmann, the “Big Cheese,” and Oskar Arévalo, executive chef, are planning to open the Green Dirt Farm Crossroads location in March at 16th and Oak Street; photo by Carlos Moreno, KCUR

Sarah Hoffmann owns Green Dirt Farm, a Weston artisan cheesemaker that’s set to open its Kansas City location on Oak and 16th Street in a matter of days.

Signs in Green Dirt on Oak’s windows encourage people to vote against the 3/8th-cent sales tax. Hoffmann said the new plan doesn’t change her mind. She says the tax money would be put to better use expanding housing, mitigating climate impacts and investing in public infrastructure.

ICYMI: KC’s cheesemakers Green Dirt Farm opening new space in embattled Crossroads

A sign in a store front near the intersection of 16th and Oak Streets on March 25, 2024 urges Jackson County residents to vote against a 3/8th-cent stadium tax; photo by Carlos Moreno, KCUR

Even if their businesses remain open, both Hoffmann and Cockson are concerned about the parking and construction issues the stadium could cause.

“How will that impact our customer’s desire to come down here? Are they going to say to themselves, ‘It’s too busy and too crowded, there’s not parking and all that construction is getting in the way — I don’t even want to go down there right now’?” Hoffman said. “It can have a really big negative impact on our business.”

The Royals said the team will continue to factor community feedback into the design of the ballpark district.

“After the vote, we will continue this collaborative and thoughtful process with the Mayor, City Council and Crossroads small businesses on integrating the ballpark district and neighborhood,” the team said in a statement to KCUR.