Royals owner says new stadium needed to “create transformational growth,” also something about Dick Howser

Kansas City Royals owner John Sherman has followed up his first bonkers open letter to fans about a new stadium with a second bonkers open letter to fans about a new stadium, and like all sequels, it ups the bonkers energy significantly:

Last Monday night, I pulled into The K for our game against the Detroit Tigers. As I watched fans excitedly picking up their Bo Jackson bobbleheads, a man came over to me in the parking lot. “I’d like to introduce you to someone,” he said. “This is Nancy Howser, Dick’s widow.” Many of you remember our Royals manager Dick Howser, who died at age 51 just one year after leading the team to their first World Series championship in 1985. Some 38 years later, I had the unexpected privilege of greeting his wife — who has remained in Kansas City almost four decades later — as she returned to The K for a game.

I was struck by the moment. My very first World Series game was the historic Game 6 in 1985, managed by her husband Dick. Standing there in the parking lot, the history, the legacy, and the passion that connects generations of those of us who love the Royals all seemed to collide.

It goes on from there to touch on some of the typical stadium talking points — “a dynamic and energized ballpark experience,” “$2.8 billion in total economic output,” “create transformational growth” — but the overall tone of the thing is “Dick Howser died for your sins, what have you done for him lately?” It 100% reads like it was written by a self-absorbed billionaire, probably after a couple of drinks, rather than by a communications professional, and this is the kind of small favor we have to appreciate under late capitalism.

Sherman also promised to release in the next 30 days “an overview of the ballpark district,” which could be either in downtown Kansas City or in suburban Clay County, so that’s going to make for some interesting renderings. (He said he plans to pick a preferred site by “late September.”) And he said again that he and other Royals owners will contribute “well in excess of $1 billion in private investment,” which sounds great except that in his first letter he said the total cost of a stadium and ballpark district would be $2 billion, so that leaves close to $1 billion to be paid for by somebody who isn’t owner of the Royals.

Add it all up and there isn’t much actual info there, other than to keep some kind of momentum going since his last open letter was way back in November. As will be the point of releasing renderings next month, and picking a site in September. Certainly nobody is going to be paying attention to the Royals because of the baseball they’re playing, and being a billionaire comes with the ability to get articles written nationwide with no critical analysis about your public statements no matter how dumb they are, so Sherman may as well use whatever soapbox he can, even if it’s just to say “Yup, still want your money, reply still hazy on what for exactly.”