Royals majority owner talks club’s next home

SURPRISE, Ariz. (KQTV) -- While the Kansas City Chiefs are set to move across the border into a new stadium in Kansas, another Kansas City sports team's future is up in the air.

The Kansas City Royals want a new stadium of their own. Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas and state lawmakers have made keeping the team in-state a top priority.

Majority owner John Sherman answered questions at Spring Training with his club in Surprise, Arizona. He appreciates the effort Lucas and state lawmakers are making.

"We're still evaluating... Kansas... and we're still evaluating multiple locations in Missouri," Sherman said. "But I do appreciate the big effort that's being put towards [it] not only by the mayor, but by the government."

Sherman acknowledged that, while the process is complicated and long, a decision needs to be made soon.

"If you look at history, they're always long," said Sherman. "They're -- multi-jurisdictional public-private partnerships are complicated. I think it's time to kind of get on with it. I know our fans have stadium fatigue, deal fatigue, and we've got that too, but this is a generational decision. Very strategic and we've got to get it right."

Sherman wouldn't go as far as calling a Missouri location his preference for a new stadium. Though he said he'd like to see a stadium in the "heart" or "cultural center" of the city.

The Royals' Kauffman Stadium lease expires after the 2030 season.