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The Kansas City Royals are Kansas City’s Major League Baseball franchise, founded in 1969 as an American League expansion team after the Kansas City Athletics left for Oakland. Founded by pharmaceutical entrepreneur Ewing Kauffman, the club is named not for royalty but for the American Royal livestock show — a nod to the region’s agricultural heritage. The Royals have played at Kauffman Stadium (originally Royals Stadium) in the Truman Sports Complex since 1973, and have won two World Series — 1985 (over the St. Louis Cardinals) and 2015 (over the New York Mets). The franchise has had three controlling owners (Kauffman, David Glass, and John Sherman) and in 2026 announced plans to leave Kauffman Stadium for a new downtown ballpark at Crown Center.

Founding and name

The Royals entered the American League for the 1969 season as one of two expansion clubs (alongside the Seattle Pilots), filling the void left when the Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland after 1967.12 Founding owner Ewing Kauffman — the self-made founder of Marion Laboratories — won the expansion franchise and ran a public naming contest that drew some 17,000 entries.13

The winning name, submitted by Sanford Porte of Overland Park, honored the American Royal — Kansas City’s livestock show, horse show, rodeo, and barbecue competition held annually since 1899 — not British royalty.1 The name ties the team to the region’s agricultural and stockyards heritage.

Ballparks

  • Municipal Stadium (1969–1972). The Royals’ first home, previously home to the KC Athletics and the Negro Leagues’ Kansas City Monarchs.45
  • Royals Stadium → Kauffman Stadium (1973–present). Opened April 10, 1973; a baseball-only park built during the multipurpose “cookie-cutter” era, distinguished by its outfield fountains. Renamed Kauffman Stadium for the founding owner on July 2, 1993. It shares the Truman Sports Complex with Arrowhead Stadium (home of the Chiefs).54

Ownership

PeriodOwnerNotes
1969–1993Ewing KauffmanSole founding owner; died 1993, having arranged a succession plan to keep the team in Kansas City.6
1993–2000Kauffman-established board / local charitable stewardshipDavid Glass served as interim chairman/CEO from 1993; a Kauffman-named board ran the franchise until a sale.6
2000–2019David GlassFormer Walmart CEO; bought the team for ~$96 million in 2000. Died January 9, 2020.7
2019–presentJohn ShermanA local businessman; deal agreed August 2019, finalized November 25, 2019 (reported ~$1 billion). Third controlling owner in franchise history.8

On-field highlights

  • 1985 World Series champions. The Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4–3 in the all-Missouri “I-70 Series,” rallying from a 3–1 deficit and clinching with an 11–0 Game 7 on October 27, 1985; Bret Saberhagen was Series MVP. The franchise’s first title.910
  • 2014 AL pennant. After a wild-card run, the Royals won the American League pennant but lost the World Series to the San Francisco Giants in seven games.2
  • 2015 World Series champions. The Royals beat the New York Mets 4–1 (in five games) for the franchise’s second title.21
  • George Brett. The Hall of Famer (inducted 1999 with 98.2% of the vote) spent his entire 1973–1993 career with the Royals and hit .390 in 1980, the highest single-season average since 1941, winning AL MVP.1112
  • The Royals have played in the AL Central since the division’s 1994 creation (previously the AL West).1

Proposed downtown ballpark

After a 2024 sales-tax referendum to fund stadium plans was rejected by voters, the Royals continued searching for a new home. On April 22, 2026, the team announced it will leave Kauffman Stadium for a new downtown ballpark at Crown Center, on the site of Hallmark Cards’ corporate headquarters near Washington Square Park.1314 Reported figures put the ballpark at ~$1.9 billion and the broader ~85-acre district at ~$3 billion, financed roughly two-thirds private / one-third public via city-backed bonds plus a Missouri state package — a structure that, unlike the 2024 plan, does not require a public vote.1513 Groundbreaking is projected for 2027 with an opening targeted around the 2030 season; some opposition (e.g. a push for a public vote) has surfaced.1613

Sources

See also

Notable Royals figures

  • dan-quisenberry — All-Star closer of the early-1980s Royals
  • yordano-ventura — pitcher on the 2014–15 pennant/championship teams (d. 2017)

Footnotes

  1. Wikipedia — “Kansas City Royals.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_Royals — asserts: 1969 AL expansion; “Royals” named for the American Royal (Sanford Porte, ~17,000 entries); AL Central since 1994; 1985 + 2015 titles. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Britannica — “Kansas City Royals.” https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kansas-City-Royals — asserts: 2014 AL pennant + WS loss to the Giants; 2015 WS champions over the Mets. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. MLB — Ewing Kauffman (Royals Hall of Fame). https://www.mlb.com/royals/hall-of-fame/members/ewing-kauffman — asserts: founding owner Ewing Kauffman. ↩

  4. MLB — Royals ballpark history. https://www.mlb.com/royals/history/ballparks — asserts: Municipal Stadium 1969–72; Royals Stadium opened 1973. ↩ ↩2

  5. Wikipedia — “Kauffman Stadium.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kauffman_Stadium — asserts: opened April 10, 1973 as Royals Stadium; renamed Kauffman Stadium July 2, 1993; Truman Sports Complex. ↩ ↩2

  6. SABR — Kansas City Royals team ownership history. https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/kansas-city-royals-team-ownership-history/ — asserts: Kauffman 1969–93; interim board/Glass 1993–2000. ↩ ↩2

  7. MLB — “Former Royals owner David Glass dies.” https://www.mlb.com/news/former-royals-owner-david-glass-dies — asserts: Glass bought the team for ~$96M in 2000; died Jan 9, 2020. ↩

  8. MLB — “John Sherman and co-investors finalize purchase of the Kansas City Royals.” https://www.mlb.com/press-release/john-sherman-and-co-investors-finalize-purchase-of-the-kansas-city-royals — asserts: Sherman purchase finalized Nov 25, 2019. ↩

  9. Wikipedia — “1985 World Series.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_World_Series — asserts: Royals def. Cardinals 4–3; Game 7 11–0 (Oct 27, 1985); Saberhagen MVP. ↩

  10. Baseball Reference — 1985 World Series. https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1985_WS.shtml — asserts: series result + games. ↩

  11. National Baseball Hall of Fame — George Brett. https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/brett-george — asserts: 1973–93 Royals career; inducted 1999 (98.2%). ↩

  12. Britannica — George Brett. https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Brett — asserts:.390 in 1980; 1980 AL MVP. ↩

  13. KCUR — “Kansas City Royals stadium location: Crown Center” (Apr 22, 2026). https://www.kcur.org/sports/2026-04-22/kansas-city-royals-stadium-location-crown-center — asserts: Crown Center site; funding structure (no public vote required); 2024 referendum failure; opposition. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  14. Wikipedia — “New Kansas City Royals Stadium.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Kansas_City_Royals_Stadium — asserts: Crown Center site; cost figures; projected timeline. ↩

  15. The Beacon — “Royals new stadium cost explained” (Apr 30, 2026). https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2026/04/30/royals-new-stadium-cost-explained/ — asserts: ~$1.9B ballpark / ~$3B district; funding split. ↩

  16. KCTV5 — “Timeline: Royals finally announce location” (Apr 22, 2026). https://www.kctv5.com/2026/04/22/timeline-royals-finally-announce-location-new-stadium-will-be-crown-center/ — asserts: projected groundbreaking/opening timeline. ↩

See also

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