KC Crafts Its Own STAR Bond to Keep the Royals

City officials create a financing tool similar to Kansas' to fund a new $1.9 billion Royals stadium near Union Station.

Apr. 17, 2026 at 5:06pm

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A photorealistic studio shot of a miniature, highly detailed baseball stadium model made from premium materials like metal, glass, and wood, floating on a clean white background and dramatically lit to symbolize the abstract concepts of sports franchise retention, public financing, and urban development.A conceptual still life captures the high-stakes negotiations and innovative financing behind Kansas City's efforts to keep the Royals baseball team.Kansas City Today

To keep the Royals in Missouri, Kansas City officials have crafted a financing plan that uses a tool similar to Kansas' STAR bonds. The plan allows the city to provide up to $600 million to help fund a new $1.9 billion Royals stadium just south of downtown, near Union Station. The financing will be paid back over 30 years using tax revenue generated by the stadium and an entertainment district around it.

Why it matters

After Kansas lured the Chiefs away with a generous STAR bond subsidy, Kansas City is using a similar financing mechanism to try to keep the Royals from following suit. This highlights the competitive nature of professional sports team retention and the lengths cities will go to in order to maintain their local franchises.

The details

The City Council approved a plan that allows the city to provide up to $600 million to help fund the new Royals stadium. The financing will be paid back over 30 years using tax revenue generated by the stadium and an entertainment district around it, including sales taxes, use taxes, tourism taxes, and utility taxes. This is similar to the STAR bond approach used by Kansas to keep the Chiefs, but with a smaller taxing district than the one used for the Chiefs stadium.

  • The City Council approved the financing plan on Thursday, April 17, 2026.
  • The new Royals stadium is planned to be built just south of downtown, near Union Station.

The players

Mario Vasquez

The Kansas City City Manager who will negotiate the final deal with the Royals and other government agencies.

Quinton Lucas

The Mayor of Kansas City who expressed confidence in the city's financing plan for the new Royals stadium.

Zach Mohr

A public finance expert at the University of Kansas who said the city's plan makes a lot of sense.

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What they’re saying

“'You have a tax base surrounding an amenity, and you're using the increase in value of that tax base to pay the bonds. This really makes a lot of sense.'”

— Zach Mohr, Public Finance Expert, University of Kansas

“'I'm proud of the city manager and his staff and what they're building up. I think that's how we can deliver a good, fiscally responsible project that is based largely on people who are spending at a baseball stadium, not an entire city, not entire county, not a third of the state.'”

— Quinton Lucas, Mayor of Kansas City

What’s next

The city will now need to negotiate the final details of the financing deal with the Royals and other government agencies, including determining the exact amount the city will contribute and the specific taxes that will be used to pay back the bonds.

The takeaway

Kansas City's new financing plan for the Royals stadium shows the city has learned from the Chiefs' departure to Kansas and is willing to be proactive in using innovative tools to keep its professional sports teams. However, the city will still need to carefully manage the financial risks associated with backing the bonds itself.