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The Stadium
From the interstate, the initial view of Kauffman Stadium is quite impressive. From I-70 I could see the entire upper deck of the ballpark and the large Royals logo on the back of the scoreboard, which is shaped like the classic logo itself. Majestic as ever, “The K” shares a sports complex with the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium. You exit I-70 at the Blue Ridge Cutoff and descend down to where the stadium is situated. Even though the ballpark was built in the bland cookie-cutter era of the 1970’s, which spawned such monolith creations as Riverfront, Veterans, and Busch Stadiums, Kauffman Stadium is the opposite of those blights. Thirty years after it opened, The K is still renowned for its picturesque waterfalls and fountains in the outfield and sleek, sloping curved design that holds virtually all of the stadium’s 40,793 seats. The Royals were established as a MLB expansion franchise in 1969, and after spending their first four seasons at Municipal Stadium they moved into Royals Stadium in 1973. The biggest change to the stadium since then has been its renaming in 1993 after their late-owner, Ewing M. Kauffman. Two years later, the Royals replaced the stadium's artificial turf with real grass, and during the decade all of the original orange, yellow and red seats were replaced with blue ones. Apparently Kansas City managed to master the art of the non-closed open-air stadium before they became chic. While most of the newer stadiums offer views of city skylines and the like, at The K you get a view of the elevated I-70 and automobiles zooming to and fro, in addition to the waterfalls behind the outfield walls. But to me, the dominant feature is the eyeful of green grass, reminiscent of Spring Training berm seating, which extends outside the ballpark up to the highway. From the upper deck, the colors are so vibrant that the view becomes a dynamic canvas dominated by green grass and blue sky, accented by the large 12-story high scoreboard in center field, positioned in the middle of what is the largest privately funded fountain in the world. The waterfall and fountains comprise 322-feet and were erected when the stadium was built to reinforce Kansas City’s reputation as “The City of Fountains.” Aesthetically pleasing, the “water spectacular” has defined the Royals’ ballpark for three decades and the view from the upper deck can’t be matched when sitting in the lower bowl. The headquarters of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is the most noticeable building looming on the horizon, rising above I-70 in left field. I did quench my curiosity to see if fans could watch the game from the rising hill that leads up to the Interstate. But the view afforded didn’t include the playing field, so there isn’t any way to see the action without a ticket. Located inside of Kauffman Stadium is the Royals Hall of Fame exhibit, which is housed slightly to the third base side behind home plate. Each of the Royals six division championship trophies are displayed, as is the holy grail of the sport, the World Series trophy from 1985. The Royals began their own Hall in 1986 and have inducted 18 former players and managers, the first of which were Amos Otis and Steve Busby. The most famous of all players to don Kansas City blue remains George Brett, who is one of three Royals to have their numbers retired by the team (Frank White and Manager Dick Howser are the others). The numbers are located below the scoreboard in center field. Underscoring Brett’s status, the George Brett Bridge is located next to Kauffman Stadium.
Tickets
Parking Skipping the longer line, stadium parking is a breeze and perhaps the only official ballpark lot not yet a rip-off. Priced at a modest $6, I parked my car less than 100 yards from the Stadium. I can’t think of another MLB ballpark that I’ve visited where I was able to park as close as I did for under $10.
Concessions
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum opened in 1991 to pay homage to the history of the Negro Leagues, and does not serve as a Hall of Fame. Kansas City was a natural choice of host due to its heritage as the birthplace of the Negro Leagues, which were officially organized by Rube Foster in the nearby Paseo YMCA in 1920. The Museum chronicles the history of African Americans in professional baseball through the late 1800’s up until Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. Although the self-guided tour generally takes an hour (according to the pamphlet), I spent three hours inside. A 15-minute movie narrated by James Earl Jones runs every half hour and precedes the exhibits, which detail the six different Negro Leagues, the famous East-West All-Star classic, and the legendary players that made up the rosters. Among the more memorable pieces of information that I retained centered around Hank Aaron, who was nicknamed “Pork Chop” during his Negro League career with the Indianapolis Clowns. Apparently as a teenager, Aaron would only eat pork chops and french fries while the team traveled. Additionally I learned that, although there was a league structure, Negro League teams played a majority of their games against local teams as they barnstormed across the county. The first-ever night baseball games occurred in 1930 when the Kansas City Monarchs purchased a portable lighting system, enabling them to play at night wherever they went. It wasn’t until 1935 that MLB first played under the lights, when the Reds hosted the Cardinals at Crosley Field. I found the Negro Leagues Museum, which shares a complex with the American Jazz Museum at 1616 East 18th Street, to be very informative and highly recommend it to any baseball fan. Admission is only $6 and parking is free and easy to find in a nearby lot or on the street. The hours of operation are 9-6, Tuesday through Saturday, and 12-6 on Sunday.
Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque Restaurant Located at the corner of 18th Street and Brooklyn Avenue and within sight of the Negro Leagues Museum, Bryant’s has been serving up Kansas City’s favorite dish in their original location since 1930. Although KC boats numerous barbeque restaurants and sauces, a trip to Arthur Bryant’s is a must. Already bustling by the time I arrived shortly after 11 a.m., I was told the line would be out the door of the otherwise unassuming building by noon. For nine bucks I got a sandwich of pork heaping high along with fries. Although I’d usually consider the price steep, it was absolutely worth the cost as the food is worthy of the advance praise I’d heard from the locals. Each table has two bottles of sauce on it: original and rich & spicy. Although I wasn’t impressed with the thin, sour-tasting original sauce, the thicker rich & spicy may be the best barbeque sauce I’ve ever tasted. After finishing lunch, I bought an 18 oz. bottle of it for three dollars. For those interested in the taste of Kansas City, you can purchase 3 and 12-packs of Bryant’s sauce online at http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com. Arthur Bryant choose the location because of its proximity (4 blocks) to Municipal Stadium, the original home of the Royals, Chiefs, and Kansas City A’s prior to their move to Oakland. Although Kauffman Stadium is 7 miles away, the famous restaurant is still the perfect place for a pre-game meal.
Boulevard Brewing Company
Kansas City Nightlife
Getting Around The first thing you’ll notice as you fly into KCI is that the airport is far away…from anything. Straddling the Kansas-Missouri state line, it’s located as far away from its namesake city as any airport I’ve ever been to, approximately 20 miles to the northwest of downtown Kansas City, accessible by I-435 and I-70. There is no public transportation worth mentioning in KC. Take into consideration the distance between airport and city, and add in the fact the ballpark is east of downtown, and it doesn’t take much to figure out a rental car is a must. After landing and getting an eyeful of grass and the otherwise lack of development nearby, I realized that all rental car companies are located off-site, which required a shuttle ride. I was very surprised at the high price of temporary transportation when I searched the Internet the night before my trip. Hertz and Avis had outrageous daily rates of $100, which made my selection of Enterprise and its $38.59 rate for a compact (Ford Escort) seem like the steal it really wasn’t, considering I’ve rented a car on no notice in another country (Panama) from Avis at $23 per day. Previously I had booked a car online through Hertz in Boston at $19 the night before. For taxes, add another $8.90 daily dose onto the final total, bringing a two-day rental to $94.98. As for lodging, a handful of hotels were priced in the $36-45 dollar range in the vicinity of Kauffman Stadium on nearby I-435. I was happy to find a Motel 6 seven miles away at $35.99. With tax, the total was $41.20 per night.
Kauffman Stadium Footnotes - Facts & Figures
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