The record

The two ordinances

Who pays

Who pays for the ballpark, and what each source has committed.
City commitment $600M doc doc
Mostly city-backed bonds, not cash on hand. The ordinance itself appropriated the first $20 million.
Direct city infrastructure funding $90M ref ref
City-backed special obligation bonds $510M ref doc
State contribution (estimated) $540M ref doc ref
Redirected future tax revenue via the Show-Me Sports Investment Act plus infrastructure and transportation credits.
Total public $1.14B ref ref
Royals private share $760M ref
Total stadium cost $1.9B doc ref

Why there was no vote

The city is financing most of its share with special obligation bonds, which avoids a public vote. The city hopes stadium-district revenue will repay them, but the debt must be repaid from the general fund either way. Council approved the deal on August 20, 2026, before the August 31 deadline set by the certified citizen petition. Councilmember Johnathan Duncan said the council had been briefed that the city would be in the best legal position if it approved before August 31; Mayor Quinton Lucas said the city had no deadline.

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How it happened

  1. Jackson County rejects the ballpark sales tax

    Voters reject a renewal of the county's 3/8-cent sales tax, which would have funded a Royals ballpark in the Crossroads and a renovation of Arrowhead. Both of the county's election boards certified it down, 58 percent to 42.

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  2. Royals and Hallmark announce Crown Center

    A mixed-use ballpark district at Crown Center, in a deal with Hallmark, whose headquarters at 2501 McGee Street will be torn down for it. Chairman John Sherman says the club plans to break ground in 2027.

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  3. Petition signatures certified

    Missouri Workers Power submits 4,500 signatures on June 5 to require a public vote on venue subsidies. The city clerk certifies 3,776 of them as valid, against 2,068 required, by June 23.

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  4. Plan Commission recommends rezoning, with conditions

    The City Plan Commission unanimously approves the rezoning for the ballpark district. A recommendation, not an enactment.

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  5. Committee endorses the agreements unanimously

    The Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee approves ordinances 260704 and 260705 without a dissenting vote and sends them to the full Council.

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  6. Council approves the deal, 11 to 2

    165 pages of agreements pass in a single vote. Ordinance 260704, sponsored by Mayor Quinton Lucas, passed as a committee substitute. Nathan Willett and Johnathan Duncan vote no.

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  7. The rezoning ordinance is held for a later vote

    Ordinance 260705, the rezoning and development plan, is assigned to the Third Read Calendar rather than voted on. It returned to the Council on September 3, when it was held on the docket again, and on September 10 the Council re-referred it to the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee, which held it on its agenda on September 22.

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  8. Residents sue

    San Francisco Tower residents file suit against the city, the Royals, and Crown Center.

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  9. The Council lets the petition deadline pass

    The Council had 60 days from certification to adopt the petition's ordinance or send it to voters. It did neither.

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  10. Organizers request the April ballot

    Missouri Workers Power formally asks the city clerk to place the measure before voters.

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  11. Missouri Supreme Court hears the challenge to state stadium funding

    A state senator, a state representative and a taxpayer challenge the Show-Me Sports Investment Act, the law behind the state's share. A lower court dismissed the suit. No ruling date is set.

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  12. Council passes the rezoning, 13 to 0

    Ordinance 260705, the rezoning and development plan, passes as a committee substitute, two days after the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee advanced it. The same meeting approves the stadium's tax-increment financing plan and its revenue bonds, 11 to 2.

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  13. Construction is targeted to begin

    The Royals are targeting May 2027 to break ground, if the rezoning, a TIF plan and state funding come through. The Council passed the rezoning and the TIF plan on October 8, 2026. No date is fixed.

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  14. The public vote

    The next available city election. The date is not yet certified.

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The full timeline, with what each step meant