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Kauffman Stadium /
Kansas City Royals
When Kauffman Stadium -- then known as Royals Stadium -- opened on April 10, 1973, it broke all the rules. At a time when mixed-used stadiums were all the rage (Busch Stadium, Three Rivers Stadium, Riverfront Stadium, Anaheim Stadium), Royals Stadium opened as a standalone ballpark, next to a football-only facility for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. What a wasteful use of taxpayer resources, some argued, when a joint-use stadium would have been much more efficient. Today, almost all the mixed-use stadiums are either gone (Three Rivers Stadium, Riverfront Stadium), on their way out (Busch Stadium, RFK Stadium) or converted to a baseball-only facility (Angel Stadium). Yet Kauffman Stadium goes strong, despite efforts by downtown Kansas City business leaders to scrap it and build a new ballpark in downtown Kansas City. How does Kauffman survive? One answer: it's a helluva ballpark.
True, the location is somewhat lacking, and there are parts of the ballpark that could use some TLC. But make no mistake: Kauffman Stadium is one of the best places in the majors to watch a game. That same inconvenient location gives a bucolic quality to the ballpark experience; on a warm summer night, you do feel like you're in the middle of nowhere, miles from any sort of civilization, free to focus on the ballpark instead of some distraction right outside the ballpark walls. It's a comfortable place: generations of Royals baseball fans have spent hours of time here, supporting their team despite living in a small MLB market.
Most of Kauffman Stadium is the same as when it opened in 1973. The 12-story-high center-field scoreboard, complete with crown, 16,320 light bulbs and huge logo on the flipside (facing the freeway), is a signature item at the ballpark. Similarly, the 322-foot-wide water fountain in right field -- to commemorate Kansas City's identity as the Fountain City -- is still one the largest privately financed fountain spectaculars in the world. Still, Kauffman Stadium has changed with the times. When it opened, it featured artificial turf and a rock-hard playing surface. Jackson County and the Royals dumped the artificial turf prior to the 1995 season. Since then the fences have been lowered and moved in, and in 1999 a private club and suites were added.
As we said, there are some parts of Kauffman Stadium that could use some TLC, but for the most part it doesn't feel like an old ballpark in the way Dodger Stadium feels old. Perhaps that's because the ballpark was well-maintained when Ewing Kauffman owned the Royals. Another factor: HNTB's ballpark design was vaguely modernistic in 1973, but not enough to be a slave to that era. Yes, there's lot of exposed concrete at Kauffman Stadium, but the gentle curvature of the grandstand and the modest dimensions (the ballpark has only full two decks and a mezzanine level and looks from the freeway almost too small to be an MLB ballpark) keeps things on a human scale.
Still, not all is perfect with the ballpark. Despite being built only for baseball, not all the seating is perfectly aligned for fans: if you're sitting down the line in either level you'll be craning your neck to watch a batter. The outfield area is woefully underutilized: despite how it looks, there's no concourse across the outfield, denying fans a perfect vantage point to watch a game. There is a sponsored group area in the left-field area, complete with tiny spa, as well as a walkway behind part of the water fountain, but for the most part most fans won't be able to watch the action from the outfield. Too bad, really; if I were running the Royals and could make one improvement to Kauffman Stadium, I'd lay down some concrete all through the outfield and install a premium-seating area there.
So why don't the Royals draw better in their gem of a ballpark? Sure, there's enough of a hardcore baseball audience where the team can average 20,000 or so fans a year (though, as of this writing, attendance is slightly below that). And during my visit the Royals barely drew 21,000 fans a game despite fireworks after the game.
Like any small-market team, Kansas City needs to attract more than just the hardcore fans, and you don't attract bandwagoners with a losing team. Except for one run in 2003 (which, alas, was a mirage), the Royals have not fielded a winning team since the 1994 season, when Hal McRae guided the Royals to a 64-51 record. And in many ways the current Royals compete with the ghosts of the Royals teams of the late 1970s and 1980s, when George Brett, McRae, Paul Splittorff, John Mayberry, Freddie Patek, Cookie Rojas, Dan Quisenberry, Amos Otis, Willie Wilson and Frank White were leading the Royals to divisional titles and World Series berths. One winning team in 11 campaigns just will not excite the masses, especially when fans can visit the Royals Hall of Fame at the ballpark nightly and see a World Series trophy as well as tributes to these fine players.
Still, ghosts be damned. The ticket prices are reasonable, the food is good and the beer is cold, and any real fan of baseball played outdoors has no reason to avoid the Big K. Kauffman Stadium is one of the finest ballparks in the majors, and Royals fans are lucky to have it.
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Before/After the Game The Royals have proposed a renovation of Kauffman Stadium. For more information, click here. |
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