Royals and Church of the Resurrection agree to conditional deal on stadium location

By Andy Alcock

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — After weeks of negotiations, the Kansas City Royals have reached a conditional deal to buy the Church of the Resurrection’s property for the team’s Crossroads ballpark.

The deal, conditional on the Jackson County sales tax referendum being approved, was finalized on Friday.

“Our leadership team and the Royals negotiating team sat down together for about five hours and hammered out some final details that I think were really critical for our future,” said Pastor Adam Hamilton.

When the Royals announced their site selection in February, the church had already broken ground on a children’s building addition.

Hamilton said the Royals negotiated in good faith, considering the rising cost of construction and property in the Crossroads where the church wanted to stay.

“We’re going to grieve and cry when that building comes down. But it was never about a building. It was about our mission and ministry, our relationships and people, and trying to do God’s work in the heart of the city. And we can do that in another location,” he said.

Just east of the church at 16th and Oak, “Green Dirt on Oak” is ready to open Wednesday, the day after the tax referendum vote.

Owner Sarah Hoffmann bought the building in 2021.

She said it’s taken this long to set up her cheese-making facility and restaurant.

“It was just a perfect building for us. And in just the right neighborhood with a lot of foot traffic for our customers and a lot of interest,” Hoffmann said.

In the Royals original design unveiled in February, Green Dirt would be in the ballpark complex, including a hotel and team offices.

Last week, team owner John Sherman announced he planned to keep Oak Street open after input from Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, the city council, and the Crossroads community.

The original plan covered Oak Street.

There are currently no new renderings for the modified plan.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas recently visited Green Dirt. He was an invited guest for the “soft opening” of the restaurant, a kind of dress rehearsal for the public opening Wednesday.

Lucas also said there would be no condemnation of property east of Oak Street.

It means the Royals would have to negotiate with property owners there if they want the land for their ballpark complex.

Hoffmann is against the new ballpark in the Crossroads even if the Royals don’t buy her out and she can stay open.

“I think it’s been poorly planned. There is not enough parking down here. Even though the Royals keep saying that there is enough parking and that they have a plan for parking,” Hoffmann said. “We still have a lot of concerns about the impact of the stadium on the neighborhood. And, you know, as construction is happening, it would be literally across the street. And I think that it might impact our customers’ ability to reach us and to access our building and find parking.”

There’s also a constant reminder of Hoffmann’s unresolved issues with a new ballpark.

Right across 16th Street, in clear view of her restaurant’s north-facing windows and entrance, is a building with its entire south wall painted in a Royals mural.

“It’s, you know, one of the ironies of life,” she said.

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