Kansas City begins talk and studies for downtown ballpark

[Titty Meat]

http://www.kansascity.com/news/polit...177058541.html

The city of Kansas City is funding a study of at least four potential sites for a downtown baseball stadium for the Kansas City Royals, according to documents obtained by The Star.

A series of emails shows that Kansas City Manager Troy Schulte was involved in funding studies of four sites within the downtown loop that might be suitable for a baseball stadium.

Two of those sites, according to slides prepared by architecture firm HOK, are immediately adjacent to the Sprint Center, one to the north and one to the east.

Another site is East Village, several blocks of mostly undeveloped land and surface parking lots east of City Hall. A fourth site would involve several blocks of mostly surface parking lots beginning at the northwest corner of 8th and Main streets.

Others involved in the planning include Jon Copaken, principal with real estate development firm Copaken-Brooks, the Downtown Council of Kansas City, JE Dunn, The Cordish Co. and Tower Properties.

Schulte said the studies started after the Downtown Council approached City Hall about the feasibility of downtown baseball. Schulte added that he agreed to help fund a study to consider whether the four sites would work so that the city could plan ahead if the idea gained momentum.

“At this point it’s nothing more than hopes and dreams and discussions,” Schulte said.

A May 12 email from Copaken obtained by The Star suggested that conversations with the Royals and Jackson County have started.

“[T]he studies are underway, invoices are out, conversations from the County and the team are actually heading in the right way and we are sufficiently in the loop to know that real progress is being achieved,” Copaken wrote.

Kevin Uhlich, senior vice president of business operations for the Royals, said he had been contacted about downtown baseball stadium proposals earlier this year.

[ChiefsCountry]

Sports Complex area is not going to get built up. If it had potential to get built up, it already would have happened. It's an industrial park area.

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by theelusiveeightrop

Why don’t you live there?

Poker doesn’t pay like it used to.

[ChiefsCountry]

I'm the out of town consumer. I live pretty much identical distances to Kansas City and St. Louis. If I go to a Royals game, normally just drive up for the game and then go home. If I go to a Cardinals game, I normally get a hotel downtown and stay. If the Royals were downtown I would probably get a hotel and enjoy downtown area while coming up to a game.

[displacedinMN]

Then what do you do with the K?

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

Then what do you do with the K?

Chiefs $60 parking lot

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by theelusiveeightrop

Why don’t you live there?

It's super expensive. You know why it's super expensive? Because people want to live there, at least single people. I wouldn't want to live there if I had a family, though.

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

Poker doesn’t pay like it used to.

This much is true, unfortunately.

[GloryDayz]

The main reason to put it downtown is because the current complex, while nice, has nothing around it. Other than a crappy motel across the bridge and a gas station, the area around the stadium sucks hair goat balls.

[GloucesterChief]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

The main reason to put it downtown is because the current complex, while nice, has nothing around it. Other than a crappy motel across the bridge and a gas station, the area around the stadium sucks hair goat balls.

There is nothing really around Minute Maid in Houston either and it is downtown. Well, nothing other than bail bond offices really. You have to walk quite a few blocks to get to restaurants and decently priced hotels. Most of the restaurants in the area close at 3 and are not open on weekends.

All the economic impact reports will be complete bullshit.

[eDave]

Phoenix downtown arena and stadium have brought downtown Phoenix to life. Great time down there now.

No parking issues, light rail runs right by them.

[alpha_omega]

Don’t care for the idea, but it’s a better one than a new single-terminal airport.

[Halfcan]

Only shady interest want to move on from the beautiful K. Greedy bastards need to go away. Time to vote these incompetent narcissists out of power.

[BWillie]

I was mad the last MLB video game I played didn't show Denny's, the shitty gas station, and the roach infested hotel in the background. I was very offended and upset at it's lack of realism.

One of my college buddies came to a game one time, his first time in Kansas City. He got here early, all ready to have some drinks, go eat somewhere, take in Kansas City. He got to the huge concrete parking lot abyss and was very confused. There was nothing around it. There was nothing else he could do before or after the game in walking distance or a inexpensive cab ride. He kept being like lets go do this or that, isn't there something over that hill or over there. I just kept laughing and was like, well we can go eat the Grand Slam at Denny's but there is virtually nothing else to do here except drink in the parking lot and stare at the ground.

[kstater]

Not a big surprise that the corrupt city council is pissing away tax dollars on something that won't ever happen.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Pablo]

This will just confuse folks that have never set foot in downtown, but there are places to park. That big building down there hosts concerts and sporting events pretty regularly and people are able to drive their cars to those events. I know it will be trying and difficult to navigate streets with buildings instead of acres of parking lot, but I'm sure it can be done.

I don't expect this will ever happen, but I'd be just fine with a downtown stadium.

[Fish]

That big building down there has a capacity almost half of what Kauffman Stadium holds. Using the Sprint Center as proof that a downtown baseball stadium would work is pointless.