Royals targeting 2027-28 to open new ballpark
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals hope to settle on the location for a new ballpark by the end of the summer, and owner John Sherman said Thursday that he envisions the club playing there by the 2027 or 2028 season.
The long-preferred site is near downtown Kansas City, where the park would be the centerpiece of a redevelopment project that links the eastern part of the metro to the vibrant area near T-Mobile Center. The location would keep the club in Jackson County, though far from the current Kauffman Stadium, and continue a trend of using sports to spearhead urban renewal.
But complicating matters has been a competing bid from Clay County, which sits across the Missouri River from downtown Kansas City. There is more space available for a ballpark village, much like the entertainment district that has sprung up around Truist Park in Atlanta, and that could help the small-market organization generate much-needed long-term revenue.
“We’ve always said ‘downtown or near downtown,'” said Sherman, who purchased the club in November 2019 from the late David Glass. “It’s a highly motivated and creative bunch [in Clay County], but we’ve been partners with Jackson County and in Kansas City for 52 years. We value that relationship. We want them to give us their best shot, and we’re going to give them our best shot to do it there. But I think we should be clear that there is certainly an alternative to that area.”
The decision, like most when it comes to building stadiums, could come down to finances.
The Royals have shared the Truman Sports Complex with the Kansas City Chiefs dating to the construction of both Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium. Part of the current lease agreement calls for a 3/8-cent sales tax that goes toward the upkeep of both facilities, and that in turn has allowed each to far outlive other stadiums built during the same era.
Sherman said the Royals want that sales tax to continue — it would likely be on the ballot in the spring — with the roughly $350 million that it produces in public funding shifted toward the construction of a stadium.
“Ownership will take the rest,” Sherman said. “It’s a $2 billion project, probably more when you think of infrastructure.”
The Royals also have been in constant communication with the Chiefs, who are going through their own rounds of feasibility studies for Arrowhead Stadium. Like the Royals, their lease expires in 2030-31, and the Chiefs are trying to decide whether the stadium can undergo additional renovations or whether an entirely new stadium should be built.
The Royals quickly dismissed more renovations to Kauffman Stadium, where the concrete is beginning to show irreparable damage. It remains widely regarded as one of the most picturesque in baseball, but it also has grown antiquated when it comes to premium offerings that generate the sort of revenue that is necessary for teams to compete these days.
“We knew when we bought this team we were approaching the end of a lease with Jackson County. We knew we were in an aging building,” Sherman said. “This is the most important thing we’ll have the opportunity to do while we have the privilege of being stewards of this franchise. This will be the largest private-public partnership in the history of Kansas City. It has a massive and immediate community impact, and economic impact. That’s why we have a great sense of urgency of getting on with it.”
Sherman acknowledged the awkward timing of the project. The Royals are languishing in last place in the AL Central and are having one of the worst seasons in franchise history, which makes asking for public money a difficult proposition.
But he also doesn’t want the Royals to follow in the footsteps of the Athletics, who called Kansas City home before their move to Oakland. The A’s tried for decades to get a new ballpark built in the Bay Area, but they are now going through the relocation application process with MLB that could result in the team building one in Las Vegas.
“I have about 30 letters on my desk asking to vote ‘no’ on the transfer of the A’s to Las Vegas. That’s a process that drug on a long time, and people waited,” Sherman said. “We’re at warp speed compared to how long these complicated projects usually take. We are down to two sites. We’re going to be ready to have that down to one by the end of the summer.”
The latest AP poll is out.
With a trio of ranked matchups around the sport, there was bound to be some movement after Week 3.
The Georgia Bulldogs and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets got the biggest wins of the weekend. UGA took down the rival Tennessee Volunteers in a wild, back-and-forth game. The Jackets, meanwhile, got the week started with an upset of the then-No. 12 Clemson Tigers.
In one of the three ranked matchups Saturday, the Miami Hurricanes ended the South Florida Bulls‘ early-season run. USF had beaten ranked opponents (Boise State, Florida) in each of the first two weeks. The Canes, however, overpowered the Bulls to stay undefeated.
What does it all mean for the AP Top 25? Let’s break down the rankings.
Stats courtesy of ESPN Research.
All times Eastern
Previous ranking: 1
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Ohio 37-9
Stat to know: Ohio State has allowed just 16 points this season, its fewest through three games since 1975.
What’s next: Sept. 27 at Washington
Previous ranking: 2
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Villanova 52-6
Stat to know: Penn State allowed a passing touchdown on the final play of the game to prevent consecutive shutout wins for the first time since 1996.
What’s next: Sept. 27 at Oregon, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Previous ranking: 3
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Florida 20-10
Stat to know: LSU has held each of its first three opponents to 10 or fewer points for the first time since 2007.
What’s next: Saturday vs. SE Louisiana, 7:45 p.m., SEC Network
Previous ranking: 5
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated USF 49-12
Stat to know: Miami won by 37 points, its largest win against an AP-ranked opponent since 2001, when the Canes beat No. 12 Washington by 58 points.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Florida, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Previous ranking: 6
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Tennessee 44-41 (OT)
Stat to know: Georgia has won the past nine meetings in this series and is 14-2 since 2010 (Tennessee won in 2015 & ’16). This nine-game winning streak is tied for the longest by either team in this series, matching a nine-game streak by Tennessee from 1989 to 1999.
What’s next: Sept. 27 vs. Alabama, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Previous ranking: 4
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Northwestern 34-14
Stat to know: With a 20-point win, Oregon has outscored its opponents by 132 points this season. That’s the fifth-largest point differential through three games in a season in program history, trailing 2010 (+176), 2013 (+157), 1910 (+154), and 1916 (+150).
What’s next: Saturday vs. Oregon State, 3 p.m.
Previous ranking: 10
2025 record: 2-0
Week 3 result: Idle
What’s next: Saturday vs. Kent State, 3:30 p.m., ACC Network
Previous ranking: 7
2025 record: 2-1
Week 3 result: Defeated UTEP 27-10
Stat to know: Arch Manning threw 10 straight incompletions (including his interception) at one point during the second quarter. That’s the longest streak of incompletions by a Texas player in at least 20 years.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Sam Houston, 8 p.m., ESPN+
Previous ranking: 9
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Western Michigan 38-0
Stat to know: This was Illinois’ first shutout win against an FBS opponent since 2000 (Iowa).
What’s next: Saturday at Indiana, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Previous ranking: 16
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Notre Dame 41-40
Stat to know: The win over Notre Dame was A&M’s first nonconference road win against an AP top-10 team since 1979.
What’s next: Sept. 27 vs. Auburn
Previous ranking: 13
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Temple 42-3
Stat to know: Oklahoma has allowed 19 points this season, the second fewest through its first three games since 1990.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Auburn, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Previous ranking: 14
2025 record: 4-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Arkansas State 24-16
Stat to know: Rocco Becht had his 11th career game with a passing and rushing score, the most among Big 12 quarterbacks over the past three seasons.
What’s next: Sept. 27 vs. Arizona
Previous ranking: 17
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Arkansas 41-35
Stat to know: Ole Miss has won three straight games against Arkansas for the first time since 1990-93.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Tulane, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Previous ranking: 19
2025 record: 2-1
Week 3 result: Defeated Wisconsin 38-14
Stat to know: Kalen DeBoer is 9-0 at home as Alabama coach, the longest win streak by a Tide coach to begin their tenure since Xen Scott from 1919 to 1921 (17 straight).
What’s next: Sept. 27 at Georgia, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Previous ranking: 15
2025 record: 2-1
Week 3 result: Lost to Georgia 44-41 (OT)
Stat to know: Joey Aguilar is the first SEC player with at least four passing scores and a rushing TD in his conference debut in the past 20 seasons.
What’s next: Saturday vs. UAB, 12:45 p.m., SEC Network
Previous ranking: 20
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Wyoming 31-6
Stat to know: Utah has now started its season 3-0 in three consecutive years.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Texas Tech, noon, Fox
Previous ranking: 21
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Oregon State 45-14
Stat to know: This is the first time the team has scored at least 45 points in each of its first three games since 2016.
What’s next: Saturday at Utah, noon, Fox
Previous ranking: NR
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Clemson 24-21
Stat to know: Aidan Birr‘s 55-yard, winning field goal is the longest winning field goal in program history.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Temple, 4:30 p.m., The CW
Previous ranking: 22
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Indiana State 73-0
Stat to know: Indiana’s 73-0 win was the third-largest victory and second-largest shutout in program history. Two of the Hoosiers’ three biggest wins have come under Curt Cignetti.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Illinois, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Previous ranking: NR
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated South Carolina 31-7
Stat to know: This is Vanderbilt’s first 3-0 start to the season since 2017
What’s next: Saturday vs. Georgia State, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
Previous ranking: 23
2025 record: 2-1
Week 3 result: Defeated Central Michigan 63-3
Stat to know: The 60-point victory over CMU is the largest by the program against an in-state opponent since 1922, when the Wolverines beat Michigan State 63-0.
What’s next: Saturday at Nebraska, 3:30 p.m., CBS
Previous ranking: 24
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated South Alabama 31-15
Stat to know: Auburn is off to its second 3-0 start in three seasons under coach Hugh Freeze (2023). The Tigers finished that season 6-7.
What’s next: Saturday at Oklahoma, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Previous ranking: 25
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Louisiana 52-10
Stat to know: Ahmad Hardy is the first FBS player with a 200-yard rushing game this season. It’s his fifth-straight 100-yard rushing game dating to last season (played for UL Monroe last season).
What’s next: Saturday vs. South Carolina, 7:00 p.m., ESPN
Previous ranking: 8
2025 record: 0-2
Week 3 result: Lost to Texas A&M 41-40
Stat to know: Notre Dame is starting the season 0-2 for the third time in the past 15 years.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Purdue, 3:30 p.m., NBC
Previous ranking: NR
2025 record: 3-0
Week 3 result: Defeated Purdue 33-17
Stat to know: USC has won its last four games against Purdue.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Michigan State, 11 p.m., Fox
Virginia Tech has fired coach Brent Pry, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Sunday. Pry is set to be owed more than $6 million in his buyout.
The move comes a day after a 45-26 home loss to Old Dominion in which the Hokies were booed loudly while heading to the locker room for halftime.
Saturday’s loss dropped Virginia Tech to 0-3 on the season and 16-24 through four seasons under Pry.
The hot-seat talk bubbled up around Pry in November last season, and if the Hokies had lost to Virginia to end the season, a change may have been made at that point. But Virginia Tech defeated Virginia, and Pry’s second consecutive 6-6 regular season landed him in a bowl game.
But as the offseason included personnel changes, the talk around Pry’s status didn’t fade. He entered Year 4 with a new defensive coordinator — Sam Siefkes, a former linebackers coach with the Arizona Cardinals — and a staff that included former longtime Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster as an adviser/analyst.
It did not work in the early going. Though the Hokies played hard in a season-opening loss to South Carolina, they were pushed around by another SEC team, Vanderbilt, in Virginia Tech’s home opener a week later. The Commodores scored 34 consecutive points to close out a 44-20 win in which they trailed by 10 points at halftime.
That loss, however, proved to be just an opening act to Saturday’s stunning loss to in-state foe Old Dominion.
“Clearly, it starts with me,” Pry said after the loss to the Monarchs. “Coaches, players, everybody is accountable here. We’ve got to get back to the basics and find a way to be closer to the team we can be.”
Virginia Tech will host Wofford on Saturday before beginning ACC play the following week at NC State.
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