Apr 22, 2024
Kansas City Women’s Soccer Plans $800 Million Stadium District
, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- After a failed vote to build a downtown Kansas City Royals stadium, another of the city’s professional sports teams is planning to expand with a mixed-used entertainment district.
The Kansas City Current, the city’s National Women’s Soccer League team, will add a retail, restaurant and multifamily district to its recently opened stadium. The first phase will include $200 million in private funding and will begin construction in late 2024 with expected completion in 2026 ahead of the World Cup that year, when Kansas City is one of the North American host cities.
All phases of development will cost roughly $800 million, according to the team. In August 2023, economic development agency the Port Authority of Kansas City approved up to $800 million in bonds for the project.
The $117 million stadium opened in March and is the first stadium built specifically for a women’s team in the US, according to the team. It sits just north of the city’s downtown, on the Berkley Riverfront District along the Missouri River. The entertainment district will be developed by the Current and Marquee Development. The team’s owners, Angie and Chris Long, founder of Kansas City-based Palmer Square Capital Management, purchased the team in 2020. They’re co-owners with Brittany and Patrick Mahomes, the quarterback of the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs.
“With the next phase of our investment in Berkley Riverfront Park, our goal is to reconnect Kansas Citians to their riverfront, bringing even more energy and activity to the water,” Angie Long said in a statement. “We believe this foundational investment will benefit our community for years to come and cement the Berkley Riverfront as one of Kansas City’s great neighborhoods for residents and visitors alike.”
The 2 million-square-foot project will have restaurants, retail, entertainment and over 1,000 apartments, with 10% of units set aside for affordable housing. It will also include a riverfront walkway and 200,000 square feet of office development.
The announcement follows the resounding April 2 defeat of a $2 billion measure to build a new downtown Royals stadium and updates to the Chiefs Arrowhead Stadium.
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