We headed to the East Crossroads, an area known for its small businesses, and asked people on the street what they thought about a new stadium in the area.
The Kansas City Royals have set their sights on the Star Press Pavilion in the Crossroads as their new home. It’s not unheard of. Lots of large cities like Los Angeles, Houston, Las Vegas and St. Louis have inner-city stadiums, but should Kansas City follow suit? What do citizens really think about the new plans for their city?
Does a ballpark belong in the East Crossroads? Well, that depends on who you ask.
Christian
Shawnee
“I think it will be a good thing to build [the city] up. The breweries down here are really gonna like it. I like the fact that they are reviving downtown and getting people to come down here more instead of going to Independence.”
Carlos
Downtown
“If you look at every other major city like Houston, Vegas, most of the stadiums are in the center. Let’s say if every game holds 30,000 to 40,000 people coming from outside or around the greater Kansas City area, imagine those 30,000 people being at a local business owner’s front door. It will have a massive effect, a huge increase of cash being spent in the city where it needs to be spent, and local businesses will be reaping the rewards.”
Macy
North Kansas City
“I don’t like it. While I love Kansas City and while I feel like we have so many little communities where people come and hang out such as the Crossroads, I just think that to put a stadium in the middle of a city that is not really big enough is just cause for a lot of traffic. I think that there could be good to it—like the more people that we have come in, the more support we have for small businesses—but I’m just not really for it. Our city is just not
super accommodating.”
Matt
Iowa
“I love the downtown feel of a stadium in other cities, and I think here would be awesome.”
Walker
North Kansas City
“I think that this city’s trajectory is upward. That building right there [the Star building] is doing nothing. It’s an ugly eyesore to the city I love. I think [a stadium] will bring more commerce to the city.”
Greg
Midtown
“I love the Kansas City Royals, I love Kansas City, and honestly, if it’s gonna, in the long run, serve the city better then I think that’s awesome. In the short run, I think there’s going to be some pain to it, but change is hard—it always is. Honestly, I think it could be really good for the city in the long run, and that’s what matters. It’s an investment.”
Joel
Downtown
“I’m not opposed to the stadium moving to a new location, but I think the location chosen is horrible. It doesn’t seem to have taken into consideration all of the businesses impacted by it, and it seems like it’s a very selfish decision.”
Josie
Western 49-63
“I personally don’t think it’s a good idea. I think one of the nice things about Kansas City, especially here in downtown, is traffic here is not as bad as other cities. I feel like doing that is going to make traffic really, really bad, and then I feel like people may not want to come down to this area anymore. Taking out businesses, especially local businesses, is not something I support, and I think that is another thing Kansas City excels at. We have a lot of local businesses, so taking out those businesses I don’t think is fair, and it also eradicates the option of having new businesses in the area.”
Trey
Overland Park
“I think it’s an interesting location, but I have to say, as a community member, I would have liked to see more community engagement. We’re big into all those local businesses that are going to get impacted down there due to parking, due to lack of business and competition. So I wish there had been more open transparency before a location was set. I think it’s pretty cool. There’s just a lot of uncertainty, and uncertainty scares people.”
