The Royals’ vision for a new downtown stadium includes the former home of The Kansas City Star, a green and copper glass press pavilion that welcomes interstate drivers to the Crossroads.
The proposed Kansas City Royals stadium would incorporate the site in its plan, multiple sources told The Star. Officials are expected to announce plans during a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
At 1601 McGee St., the building overlooks the Interstate 670 loop.
In addition to the 4.7-acre property that spans two city blocks, Royals officials have considered sites in North Kansas City and near City Hall.
Here are five things to know about the old Kansas City Star building, according to newspaper archives and city property records:
1. The press pavilion opened in 2006
Opened in 2006, the building was primarily a production facility, printing newspapers while Star reporters and editors worked out of the historic brick structure at 1729 Grand Blvd.
2. The presses printed for The Star and other U.S. newspapers
The structure contained four state-of-the-art German built printing presses when it opened. In addition to The Star, these presses churned out print copies of publications, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The Wichita Eagle.
3. The building owners pitched the site to the Royals
The building is currently owned by the Privitera family, who as far back as winter 2023 tried to pitch the Royals on a stadium at that site.
4. The building was a trailblazer in Kansas City’s downtown redevelopment
The structure was completed before other downtown-area revitalization efforts, such as the H&R Block headquarters, the Kauffman Center and the Power & Light District and T-Mobile Center. These projects were completed from late 2006 to 2011.
5. Newspaper staff left the building during the pandemic
McClatchy, The Star’s parent company, sold the building in 2019 and exited its lease in 2021, roughly three years after newsroom staff moved in. Star offices are now in Crown Center and the papers are printed in Iowa, at the Des Moines Register’s facility.
Where is the old Kansas City Star press pavilion?
Location: 1601 McGee St., overlooking the Interstate 670 loop between McGee and Oak streets.
The Star’s Sam McDowell contributed to this story.