(Photo credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images)

The Royals have secured $2 billion in private investment to build a new ballpark in downtown Kansas City, the team announced Wednesday.

The 85-acre Crown Center project includes a park-like central square with fountains and keeps the club in Missouri.

'Our founder Ewing Kauffman wanted the Royals to be Kansas City's forever, and he wanted the team to benefit his hometown as much as possible,' Royals CEO and Chairman John Sherman said. 'Joining Hallmark with this project achieves both and extends the Hall family's critical legacy of helping Kansas City grow.'

The Royals have been playing at the 40,000-seat Kauffman Stadium, formerly known as Royals Stadium, since the 1973 season.

Kauffman Stadium is located next door to Arrowhead Stadium, home of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs since 1972, which also is being replaced by a new domed stadium across the Missouri River in Kansas City, Kan.

The Royals are teaming up with Kansas City-based Hallmark Cards on the new project, which includes the ballpark along with new headquarters for both companies and surrounding mixed-use development.

'When the new Royals stadium opens at Crown Center, something proud will come full circle,' Hallmark Cards executive chairman of the board of directors Don Hall Jr. said. 'The iconic Royals crown that Hallmark created will return to the very neighborhood where it was conceived. Every time a fan walks through the stadium doors, they'll be standing in a place shaped by Kansas City and Hallmark's creative spirit.'

The project will be funded primarily by the Royals and other private investors and supplemented by public funding from the City of Kansas City and Missouri's Show-Me Sports Investment Act.

'Today's announcement reinforces that the State of Missouri is not just where the Kansas City Royals play but where they belong,' Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe said. 'This decision by the Royals to invest in our state is more than just a commitment to Kansas City, it is a commitment to communities and fans across Missouri. I appreciate the partnership of the Royals organization, Hallmark and state and local leaders in working together to make this project a reality.'

The team's lease at Kauffman Stadium ends in 2031.

The Royals said the new ballpark development will have a focus on walkability and access to Kansas City's streetcars. It is expected to create more than 20,000 during the construction phase alone.

--Field Level Media