Nick’s Picks | Courts, Roads, Music and More …

New Royals Ballpark Heading to Council Vote

It could be a pivotal week for the Royals’ proposed new home.

The $3 billion Crown Center ballpark plan could get a final council vote Thursday, after the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee takes up the funding and rezoning package Tuesday.

Critics, including Councilmember Jonathan Duncan, say the city is moving too fast and trying to get the deal done before a citizen petition can trigger a public vote.

The Royals are targeting Opening Day 2031 for the new stadium. The question now: Will the deal be done before voters get a say?

LeVota in Court

Embattled Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota heads to court on Tuesday for a pretrial hearing in his federal bribery case.

LeVota was indicted earlier this month on five federal charges accusing him of offering county jobs to entice a candidate to drop out of the 2026 race for county executive. He has denied wrongdoing.

If convicted on all five counts, he could face up to 55 years in prison.

But don’t expect a trial date just yet.

LeVota’s attorneys are asking for more time, seeking to push the trial to April 2027 so they can review the video and audio evidence at the heart of the allegations.

That could mean LeVota is no longer county executive when the case goes to trial. The interim executive’s term expires January 1, 2027, when either Democrat Stacy Lake or Republican Alan Rohlfing is expected to take over.

For now, LeVota says he has no plans to resign, despite rising calls for him to step down.

New Missouri Map on Trial

The battle over Missouri’s new congressional map heads back to court this week.

On Wednesday morning, a circuit court judge in Jefferson City will decide whether voters get the right to overturn the map in a public referendum this November.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins says the state constitution doesn’t allow it and is refusing to place the question on the ballot.

Earlier this year, Republicans redrew the state’s political boundaries in an effort to oust longtime Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, who has represented Kansas City’s 5th District for 21 years.

Time is running short for the courts to act. The case has to be resolved by Sept. 8 – the final day that changes can be made to the November ballot.

New Data Center Legal Clash

Could construction be halted this week on a contentious new mega data center in Independence?

Months after work began on the 400-acre project, a group of neighbors is suing to stop the work and is seeking an immediate injunction from a Jackson County judge.

The 52-page lawsuit claims the city of Independence violated both its own charter and Missouri’s Sunshine Law before approving the facility, which when fully built, will be roughly twice the size of Arrowhead Stadium.

Two council members who backed incentives for the data center have since been voted out, and residents are now trying to recall a third.

THE FUTURE OF U.S. 71

Kansas City has a new project rising to the top of its to-do list: fixing one of its most controversial and dangerous roadways.

U.S. Highway 71 (Bruce R. Watkins Drive) may also claim the title as the metro’s most oddly designed stretches of pavement.

Now with millions of dollars in federal cash, the city is considering some bold ideas to rethink the 10-mile route that moves 22 million vehicles a year from the metro’s suburbs to downtown, from burying parts of the freeway underground to stripping the road of its brake-screeching traffic lights.

On Thursday night, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, Cleaver and project planners map out 71’s future in a public town hall at the Kansas City Central Library. The event starts at 6 p.m. And they’ve got a terrific moderator, me!

Would you join us?

KC Symphony Heads to Europe

The Chiefs have played in Germany and Brazil. K-State went to Ireland. KU is heading to London next month. Now Kansas City’s musicians are going international.

The Kansas City Symphony is about to take off for Amsterdam, Berlin and Hamburg.

Before they go, you can preview what they’ll play in a “European Tour Send-Off Concert” at Helzberg Hall on Friday night.

Watch, See and Do in KC …

• Ethnic Enrichment Festival: Eat your way through 50 countries and all in a single afternoon at the 47^th annual Ethnic Enrichment Festival, Friday-Sunday in Swope Park.
• The Heart of America Hot Dog Festival, an annual fundraiser for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is firing up the grill to celebrate the history of America’s pastime, made complete with ballpark cuisine and live music. It’s all-day Saturday on the lawn of the National World War I Museum.  
• Parkville Days: Ride a Ferris wheel with a view of the Missouri River, sip on craft brews in the beer garden and browse an art fair in this three-day celebration, starting Friday in historic downtown Parkville.
• Big Names Take the Stage:  Rock legends Guns N’Roses bring their four-decade long music catalog to the new Morton Amphitheater on Wednesday night. Country music icon Tim McGraw performs there on Friday.
• Hip-hop superstar J. Cole will make his return to T-Mobile Center on Wednesday.
• And Three Dog Night and Little Big Town are the headliners at the Missouri State Fair, which runs through Sunday in Sedalia.
• Kansas City Chiefs fly to Florida for their second pre-season game. Kick-off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is Saturday at 6:30 p.m.