Royals’ owner John Sherman is pushing for a new stadium.
It appears that Rob Manfred not only has a law degree but the Major League Baseball Commissioner is also an expert in commercial real estate. Manfred was recently in Kansas City trying to convince anybody who was within earshot that either downtown Kansas City or a different municipality North Kansas City would be a great place to build a stadium-village. “This is a tremendous opportunity for this community, forget the Royals,” Manfred said. “Either of these sites are outstanding sites for a new ballpark. Either present the opportunity for entertainment district development around the ballpark. I think in our economic system, new facilities provide a ballclub with an opportunity for revenue generation that simply doesn’t exist in older footprints. At some point, great ballpark here, but having said that, it is an older ballpark that does not have the kind of premier revenue-generating opportunities that you get in a new facility for a market this size.” The Royals’ present stadium opened in 1973.
The Royals’ business was purchased by John Sherman on November 21st, 2019 and almost immediately Sherman pushed to build a new stadium. Sherman plans to announce his choice of where he wants his stadium-village soon. Manfred, the real estate agent, pointed out that stadium-village in Cobb County, Georgia seems successful but left out an important detail about the Atlanta Braves franchise-Cobb County partnership. While the baseball industry marvels about the Braves’ stadium-village, it is a tax drain for the county. Manfred said of the Cobb County project. “They built a city where there was none. It has become one of the prime entertainment centers in the metropolitan area where there was nothing.” However Cobb County has increased property tax rates and Cobb County runs a deficit of about $15 million per year to fund its stadium obligations. It is just business.
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