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.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by theelusiveeightrop

Many of us remember Municipal Stadium. Parking in peoples yards . I faintly remember.

So what? You're of the thinking that you'd have to park in a yard?

[CaliforniaChief]

Originally Posted by Pilsner

Why hasn't the area around the current stadia developed beyond a fleabitten motel and a Denny's?

No kidding.

We stayed at the above-mentioned hotel for our stay and while I can happily report no flea infestations, the place just isn't kept up at all. We stayed there for one reason: location. The rooms weren't nice, the bathrooms aren't kept up, they just don't give a crap. Weird.

[Titty Meat]

It will definitely happen. The stadium will be nearly 70 years old when the lease ends and Sprint Center will be almost 25. They won't be getting all the big shows then and downtown will need an anchor to attract folks. Regarding parking: there will be more street car then and they will build more parking garages.

[saphojunkie]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

I know the Pareto principle you dipshit. KC is a different type of market. The city is spread out and really the vast majority of fans would have to drive to a downtown stadium. Unless you’re going to use light rail or busses to bring people from the likes of Overland Park, Olathe, Lee’s Summit, etc... to the ballpark and back home. Most of the population of KC lives outside of the downtown area.

So, the big reason I can tell everyone on here has for straight up HATING this idea is "I assume it will make my parking harder."

That's the dumbest ****ing reason I can think of. **** your parking. Figure it out. The simple fact that you can park easily at the K is why you have to move the stadium. No businesses around there benefit from its location. Everyone just drives in, parks, drives out.

Put it downtown, and people will spend time - and money - around the stadium. THAT is why you move away from great parking.

[Fish]

... yeah the Royals are gonna tell their 40,000 fans "**** your parking. Figure it out."

[Oh Snap]

Whats wrong with kaufman? Didnt they renovate it not too long ago???

[DaveNull]

Originally Posted by 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.

I don't know if it's entirely pointless. It shows that people are willing to come downtown and really did improve downtown from what it was before the arena was built.

I'm fairly ambivalent though...the city will need to get much more serious about managing traffic flows and communicating street closures if they want it to work. They have this habit of closing 13th street going under Bartle without any kind of public notice and they don't post signs indicating a closure until you are already too close to choose an alternate route.

Then that alternate route that you're forced into is a nightmare because the lights are timed to anticipate a much lower flow of traffic and suddenly see 3x the cars trying to get from the core to the I-35 onramp at broadway.

You can tell I've spent a good deal considering how to improve this while waiting in a quarter mile line of cars on Truman.

[Eleazar]

Originally Posted by Oh Snap

Whats wrong with kaufman? Didnt they renovate it not too long ago???

City government bureaucrats see something going well and are scheming as to how they can suck some more money out of it.

[Kiimo]

Downtown "traffic"


lmao, Kansas Citians.


Just lmao.

/losangeles

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by Scooter Libby

It will definitely happen. The stadium will be nearly 70 years old when the lease ends and Sprint Center will be almost 25. They won't be getting all the big shows then and downtown will need an anchor to attract folks. Regarding parking: there will be more street car then and they will build more parking garages.

Nothing like tailgating in a ****ing parking garage.

[Halfcan]

*

[dirk digler]

I wonder if the Royals/Chiefs don’t actually care about what is around the stadiums because that means more money will be spent inside them. Plus the Royals would lose millions of dollars in parking revenue if they moved downtown

[Dayze]

I have a Navy buddy from Long Island, who now lives just outside of the city; he retired in April from NYC police dept. He borrowed a buddies small RV, and his family (him, wife and 12 year old daughter) went on a 2.5 week summer cross country, and back trip.

They stopped by in mid July for 3 days; to visit (haven't seen him since Intel School back in the day), do laundry, and take in KC as much as they could. We went to a Royals vs Tigers ( I think) game the final night they were in town. They couldn't stop raving about Kauffman. They went on and on about how wide open it felt, and how they didn't seem to think there was a bad seat in the house. They did think/feel, however, that the stadium was "WAY OUT THERE", even though I live about 20 miles from it.

He's more of a hockey fan and doesn't really watch all that much baseball, but his daughter and wife are Yankees fans. all of them loved it. When they got back, they posted a bunch of pictures of their Kauffman experience on FB - all of their friends from the NY area posted comments/questions asking what it was like. He represented us well and said "I haven't been to many ball parks, but that's gotta be one, if not the best, places to watch a game". Also went on and on about how friendly everyone was. He said "people were so nice, it actually made me a little nerovus"

[Kiimo]

Shocker. The people arguing that this is some horrible idea. It's a great idea. Sorry if you live close to the Royals stadium, most do not. It's just as easy to drive from let's say Olathe to downtown as it is to drive to the K right now. Hell you can get off 35 and be right there.

LOL at this idea that "traffic" will be bad. It takes 20 minutes to get from Olathe to the river downtown. 20 minutes!!

I drive 48 minutes to work every day and I have one of the easier commutes. Yall a bunch of lazy short-sighted tards. A downtown stadium would be magical. The idea that we shouldn't do it because you're in love with a parking lot is asinine.

[KCUnited]

Originally Posted by Dayze

I have a Navy buddy from Long Island, who now lives just outside of the city; he retired in April from NYC police dept. He borrowed a buddies small RV, and his family (him, wife and 12 year old daughter) went on a 2.5 week summer cross country, and back trip.

They stopped by in mid July for 3 days; to visit (haven't seen him since Intel School back in the day), do laundry, and take in KC as much as they could. We went to a Royals vs Tigers ( I think) game the final night they were in town. They couldn't stop raving about Kauffman. They went on and on about how wide open it felt, and how they didn't seem to think there was a bad seat in the house. They did think/feel, however, that the stadium was "WAY OUT THERE", even though I live about 20 miles from it.

He's more of a hockey fan and doesn't really watch all that much baseball, but his daughter and wife are Yankees fans. all of them loved it. When they got back, they posted a bunch of pictures of their Kauffman experience on FB - all of their friends from the NY area posted comments/questions asking what it was like. He represented us well and said "I haven't been to many ball parks, but that's gotta be one, if not the best, places to watch a game". Also went on and on about how friendly everyone was. He said "people were so nice, it actually made me a little nerovus"

After game 2 of the WS, the wife and I were in the shuttle to the terminal after dropping off the rental car at KCI. There was a Mets fan beside us, total NY baseball dork, 50's, glasses, heavy accent. He was on his phone and the conversation went something like:

You wouldn't believe it, ma. There were just rows of cars and they just sat behind them cooking their food. NO, MA! In the parking lot, cooking their food! Smoke everywhere! NO INSIDE THE PARKING LOT, MA!