The Kansas City Royals and Hallmark Cards announced a new partnership to create an 85-acre multi-use development at Crown Center as a home for the Royals and the Hallmark global headquarters.
The Wednesday press conference at The American Restaurant in Crown Center featured Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, Hallmark Executive Chairman Don Hall Jr., Royals CEO John Sherman, and President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Bob Kendrick.
“Together we will rethink, reimagine, redefine and redevelop Crown Center,” Sherman pledged. “It will advance the purpose of the Crown Center neighborhood: a place where people gather, connect, celebrate milestones and create lifelong memories.”
Sherman says the $3 billion development project will be the largest public-private partnership in Kansas City’s history. The new Royals stadium, which will cost $1.9 billion, will take up nearly two-thirds of the total budget.
Public funds – from Kansas City and the State of Missouri – are expected to cover about one-third of the total costs, with the team and private partners covering the rest.
“This is a great day for Missouri and an awesome day for Kansas City,” Kehoe declared.
Hallmark – a Kansas City-based greeting card company and the creator of Crown Center – announced its headquarters will be relocating within the new development. The new Royals stadium will be built where the current Hallmark headquarters has rested since 1956.
A Hallmark day for our organization, our city, and our community. pic.twitter.com/e2iNtDq8dG
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) April 22, 2026
“While these buildings have served us very well, we are very excited about moving to a newer building that will be even better suited for our work today and in the future,” Hall said.
Hallmark and the Royals had a uniquely intertwined history even before the new partnership, Hall explained. Hallmark was in the early stages of building Crown Center when the Royals first arrived at Kansas City, and the iconic Royals crown logo was created by a Hallmark artist.
“We are deeply honored to bring our crown back home to the very place where it was created – here at Hallmark,” Sherman said. “Destiny appears to have its eyes on us.”
Kehoe and Lucas expressed their gratitude for the Royals staying in Missouri. Lucas said the construction phase alone is expected to bring over 20,000 jobs, and no new tax increases will go toward funding the project.
Hall addressed another major concern with a downtown stadium: parking. Within the 85 acres, there are already 9,000 parking spaces, he said, implying there will be plenty of places to park within a 10-minute walk to the stadium.
Construction is projected to begin in 2027 for the stadium to be ready by the time the Royals’ lease at Kauffman Stadium expires in 2031.
“Our founder Ewing Kauffman wanted the Royals to be Kansas City’s forever, and he wanted the team to benefit his hometown as much as possible,” Sherman explained.
“This is exactly where we wanted to land in our search for a generational home.”
