Official Road Trip Stop #8: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

9/7/2009
Angels 3 @ Royals 6

I think I’ve wanted to visit Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City since I was about 6 years old. That is about when I got my first Sega Genesis, and first baseball video game, RBI Baseball 4. Way back then, the stadiums in baseball games were not very detailed, and all sort of looked the same, with a few exceptions. Wrigley Field had the ivy, Dodger Stadium had the wavy roof on the pavilion, and Kauffman Stadium had the fountains in the outfield. At the time, the coolest thing to do in the game was to put it on Home Run Derby mode and try to hit home runs into the water of those fountains. Good times.

On this trip, Kauffman Stadium proved to be one of the first truly pleasant surprises. I didn’t have many expectations for “the K,” but it turned out to be a pretty great baseball experience, despite the awful team that plays there this year.
Kauffman Stadium opened in 1973 as part of the Truman Sports Complex, which includes Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs football team, across the parking lot. The stadium has a very original and unique design for the era it was built, and has undergone an extensive renovation over the past few years to make it look almost brand new again.

Kauffman Stadium is the ultimate example of a suburban stadium in the smallest of small markets. There is almost nothing to do in the immediate area around the ballpark, unless you like Denny’s or Taco Bell. The tailgate scene, however, is very strong. This is the Midwest, after all. Tailgaters were firing up in the parking lot by 10:30 AM for a 1 PM game. Parking costs $9, which is the most reasonable I’ve seen so far on the trip.

Being in Kansas City, Kauffman Stadium’s food selection is heavy on bar-b-que. And it is good. Very good. I would make a return trip to Kauffman Stadium just for another half rack of their ribs that are sold in the outfield plaza. There is standard ballpark fare; hot dogs, peanuts, etc, but the bar-b-que is worth it, and is going to tempt you with the smell throughout the ballpark anyway.
Probably the coolest feature of Kauffman Stadium, though, is the massive HD scoreboard/video screen in center field. “Crown Vision” is 84 ft. wide and 105 ft. tall, and was the largest high-def LED display in the world until recently, when Cowboys Stadium in Dallas opened. It is so big, that even from about 500 ft away it feels as if you’re looking at a television in your living room.

In the outfield concourse is the “Outfield Experience,” which features a bunch of distractions things for kids to do. There is a miniature field where kids can hit balls, run bases, and see how hard they can throw. There is even miniature golf and a carousel. Normally, this would annoy me, but when you consider how bad the Royals are, I guess it doesn’t hurt to have something to take the fan’s mind off of what’s on the field.

There is also a Royals Hall of Fame with a pretty cool 15 minute video that showcases the history of baseball in Kansas City. There are many references and reminders of the Kansas City Monarchs, who were a very important and influential team in the Negro Leagues, and are the team that Jackie Robinson played for before his break with the Dodgers.

The Royals happened to win today, making the home record for stadiums I have visited so far 3-0. They were also wearing their powder-blue alternate uniforms for the holiday today, which were pretty cool to see in person. The fans in Kansas City have had to put up with a pretty bad Royals team for a while now, yet they seem pretty loyal and willing to show up in at least decent numbers. There are signs of promise in the Royals’ future, but 2009 has been a very, very disappointing season to say the least.

If you can’t always control the product on the field, you can at least control the ballpark experience and make it a pleasant one, which is exactly what the Royals have done at Kauffman Stadium. It is a very unique, affordable, and generally enjoyable experience at “The K.”