Chris Higgins at the Kansas City Star has details on a permit filing for the new Royals downtown stadium.
The plans suggest stadium construction could start this year and last through 2031, with dates subject to change. Construction in other areas have suggested timeframes lasting between 2035 or 2040.
“We are pleased to continue the planning process with the Kansas City Royals as we work toward the reimagining of Crown Center, and this filing is part of that process,” Crown Center spokesperson Tina
McGuire said. “While this is a long-term project that will take shape over the coming years, we are encouraged by the progress made to date and are excited to have reached this point.”
Gabe Swartz and Samantha Boring at KCTV5 also covered the details.
According to the documents, the project area takes up roughly 91 acres. The plan includes ideas to split the district into 10 areas and “build upon the area’s established role as a regional destination.” Those 10 areas would be worked on with varying timelines, with the Royals planning to open the new stadium by the 2031 season and all 10 areas planning to be complete by 2040.
“However, anticipated commencement and completion dates for each phase are subject to change and are dependent upon market demand,” the plan said.
Parts of the plan were authored by Populous, which will serve as the design lead and architect of the project. Populous’ provided design guidelines that will be followed to outline the project.
Sam Dykstra at the MLB mothership updated his top 100 prospect list ahead of the draft.
Moving out
Blake Mitchell, C, Royals (from 50)
Brody Hopkins, RHP, Rays (from 79)
Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Red Sox (from 81)
Jurrangelo Cijntje, RHP, Cardinals (from 82)
Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Padres (from 86)
Wei-En Lin, LHP, Athletics (from 88)Mitchell’s power, patience and ability to lift the ball remain tantalizing, but his overall contact rate has taken a step back from 2025 to 2026, leading him to continue to strike out in more than one-third of his High-A plate appearances. It’s an untenable trend for this T100 list.
Yirsandy Rodríguez gives a reason for Carter Jensen’s hitting streak.
Breaking balls became the centerpiece of every game plan. Jensen hit just .116 against breaking balls and offspeed pitches combined, and 58% of his strikeouts came against those offerings. His production collapsed because pitchers dictated the terms of the at-bat instead of allowing him to attack pitches he handled best.
The important question wasn’t whether Jensen could snap out of a slump. It was a question of whether that weakness would become part of his long-term offensive profile. June has started to answer that question.
Kevin O’Brien covers potential trade candidates at Royals Keep.
Caleb Moody at Kings of Kauffman writes about a potential trade partner in the Nationals.
Dan Szymborski at FanGraphs writes about the latest CBA proposal from MLB.
George Springer had a little league homer yesterday because…The Mets!
The World Cup had some drama yesterday with two matches going to penalty kicks.
First, Germany lost in PKs yesterday and appears to no longer be a soccer superpower.
Second, Morocco bested the Netherlands in a match that Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic said the Dutch got away from their attacking identity.
Will the Chiefs offensive tackles be enough next season?
The Detroit Lions released troubled CB Terrion Arnold yesterday.
The Memphis Grizzlies traded Ja Morant to the Portland Trailblazers.
47 Ronin director Carl Rinsch was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for defrauding Netflix out of a bunch of money.
SPAC swindler Chamath Palihapitiya somehow managed to get a $135M round of investment into his AI coding startup. Might as well burn the money.
Your song of the day is Muse with Nightshift Superstar.
