Kauffman Stadium Explained

Kauffman Stadium
Nickname:“The K”
Logo Image:File:Kauffman_Stadium_logo.png
Tenants:Kansas City Royals (MLB)
(1973–present)
Former Names:Royals Stadium
(19731993)
Address:1 Royal Way
Location:Kansas City, Missouri
Pushpin Map:USA#Missouri
Pushpin Relief:1
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the United States##Location in Missouri
Pushpin Label:Kansas City
Broke Ground:[1]
Renovated:2007–2009
Operator:Jackson Sports Complex Authority
Surface:Kentucky bluegrass/Perennial ryegrass (1995–present)
AstroTurf (1973–1994)
Cost:$70 million
($ in)

$250 million
(2007–10 renovations)
($ in)
Architect:Kivett and Myers
[HNTB] Populous
(renovations 1997, 2009)
Structural Engineer:Bob D. Campbell & Co. Structural Engineers[2]
General Contractor:Sharp-Kidde-Webb JV[3]
Capacity:37,903 (2012-present)
37,840 (2010-2011)
40,785 (2005-2009)
40,793 (2003-2004)
40,625 (1973-2002)
Record Attendance:42,633 (ALCS Game 2, October 9, 1980, vs. New York Yankees)[4]
Dimensions:Left Field
330feet
Left-Center
385feet
(1973-1994)
375feet
(1995-2003)
385feet
(2004-2008)
387feet
(2009-present)
Center Field
410feet
(1973-1994)
400feet
(1995-2003)
410feet
(2004-present)
Right-Center
385feet
(1973-1994)
375feet
(1995-2003)
385feet
(2004-2008)
387feet
(2009-present)
Right Field
330feet
Backstop – 60feet
(1973-present)
Publictransit: KCATA: Route 47[5]

Kauffman Stadium, often called "The K", is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals. It is next door to Arrowhead Stadium, home of National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. Both make up the Truman Sports Complex. The stadium is named for Ewing Kauffman, the founder and first owner of the Royals. It opened in 1973 as Royals Stadium and was named for Kauffman twenty years later on July 2, 1993. Since its last major renovation in 2009, the listed seating capacity is 37,903.

Kauffman Stadium was built specifically for baseball during an era when building multisport "cookie-cutter" stadiums was commonplace. It is often held up along with Dodger Stadium (1962) in Los Angeles as one of the best examples of modernist stadium design. It is currently the only stadium in the American League to be named after a person and is also one of eight stadiums in Major League Baseball that does not have a corporate-sponsored name. The stadium is the sixth-oldest stadium in the majors and has hosted the 1973 and the 2012 MLB All-Star Games, along with Royals home games during the 1980, 1985, 2014, and 2015 World Series. Between 2007 and 2009, Kauffman Stadium underwent a $250 million renovation, which included updates and upgrades in fan amenities, a new Royals hall of fame area, and other updates throughout the facility.

In 2022, the Royals announced intentions to build and open a new stadium before the team's lease agreement with Jackson County expires at the end of the 2030 MLB season. In 2024, the team announced their intention for the stadium to be located in downtown Kansas City's Crossroads district.. The plan would involve displacing several small businesses that would be in the footprint of the stadium. In April 2024, Jackson County voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot initiative to help fund the new stadium by a 16% margin. A financial analysis of the new stadium plans estimates that the cost to taxpayers would be between $4.4 billion to $6.4 billion.[6] As of June 2024, the team was considering relocating to Kansas City, Kansas.[7]

History

In 1967, voters in Jackson County approved the bonds for the Truman Sports Complex, which replaced the multipurpose Municipal Stadium and featured a football stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs and a baseball stadium for the Kansas City Athletics. The owner of the Athletics, Charles O. Finley, had just signed a new lease to remain in Kansas City. The proposal of the Truman Sports Complex was unusual, as conventional wisdom at the time held that separate football and baseball stadiums were not commercially viable. Before the 1968 season, however, Finley moved the A's to Oakland, California, and their brand-new multi-purpose stadium.[8]

After the move, Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri threatened to press for the revocation of baseball's anti-trust exemption if they did not give Kansas City a new team. Major League Baseball responded by hastily granting expansion franchises to four cities, including a Kansas City team owned by local pharmaceutical magnate Ewing Kauffman. The new teams were due to start to play in . However, Symington forced MLB to move up the start date to as he was unwilling to have Kansas City wait three years to have baseball again. The other expansion team in the American League, the Seattle Pilots, were without a suitable stadium in 1969 and the accelerated schedule forced by Symington led to their bankruptcy after just one season. In 1970, they relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. With lawsuits pending, Seattle returned to the majors with the Mariners in 1977.

Jackson County continued its plans to build a new ballpark. Like the rest of the complex, it was designed by Kivett and Myers, and constructed by the joint venture of the Sharp, Kidde, and Webb construction firms.[9] Royals Stadium broke ground on July 11, 1968, and was opened in on April 10, 1973, with a 12–1 win over the Texas Rangers that saw 39,464 fans in attendance.[8] [10] [11] Five weeks later, Nolan Ryan of the California Angels threw the first of his seven no-hitters, blanking the Royals 3–0, three walks away from a perfect game.[8] [12] [13] [14] Two months later on July 24, the stadium hosted the first of its two All-Star Games.[8]

Following the 1976 regular season, the Royals competed in the first postseason game of their history on October 9, but lost 4–1 at home to the New York Yankees in the ALCS. The Royals won the next game 6–3 on October 10 for their first postseason win in Royals Stadium.[8]

The first World Series game held in Kansas City was on October 17, 1980, against the Philadelphia Phillies. In the first inning, George Brett hit a home run down the right field line, and the Royals recorded their first-ever World Series win, 4–3 in ten innings,[15] but lost the Series in six games.[8] [16]

On October 11, 1985, in Game 3 of the ALCS, Brett hit two home runs off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Doyle Alexander, made a back-handed stop at third base to throw out a runner at home, and recorded the final out to give the Royals a much-needed 6–5 win. The Royals went on to win the American League pennant in seven games.[8]

Two weeks later, on October 27, the Royals clinched their first World Series title in franchise history, winning Game 7 in Royals Stadium. Led by the pitching of Bret Saberhagen, Darryl Motley's two-run home run, and George Brett's four hits, the Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11–0; Motley caught the title-clinching out. The Royals were the first team in the history of the World Series to lose the first two games of the series at home and come back to win.[8]

In 2012, the stadium hosted its second All-Star Game, which the National League won 8–0.[17]

The stadium hosted the Royals' first playoff game in nearly 29 years when the city's former team, the Athletics, came to town in 2014 for the Wild Card Game. Despite trailing 7–3 in the eighth inning, Kansas City rallied to win 9-8 and advanced to the ALDS.[18] They won their ALDS, the ALCS, and hosted Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 of the World Series, but fell to the San Francisco Giants.

In 2015, Kansas City returned to the playoffs, this time as the top seed in the American League. Games 1, 2, and 5 of the ALDS against the Houston Astros were played at the stadium, with the Royals winning Games 2 and 5, as well as Games 1, 2, and 6 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays, with the Royals winning all three games. The stadium hosted games 1 and 2 of the World Series against the New York Mets as a result of the American League winning the All-Star Game 6–3. The Royals won Game 1 (5-4 in 14 innings) and game 2 (7-1), as well and closed out the Mets in five games to win the 2015 World Series.

Future

In 2020, Kansas City-based design firm Populous unveiled a concept for a potential new downtown baseball stadium, showing an intimate facility with unique amenities.[19] In November 2022, team owner John Sherman announced the franchise's controversial intention to leave Kauffman Stadium before the lease ends after the 2030 MLB season,[20] with intentions of building a new stadium in downtown Kansas City (East Village) or North Kansas City.[21]

In April 2024, Jackson County rejected a ballot initiative to extend the Royals' pre-existing 3/8-cent sales tax for Kauffman Stadium to build a new stadium in the Crossroads district in downtown Kansas City near the intersection of 16th and McGee streets (south of T-Mobile Center) with over 58% of voters against.

The plan was a controversial one, Considering the proposed stadium location would require over a dozen small businesses to close or relocate, the limited amount of parking downtown, and claims that Kauffman got a “bad batch of concrete” when built.[22] The Royals had pledged at least $1 billion from ownership for developing land around the stadium, was only willing to put $300 million towards a new ballpark.[23] The stadium would have a seating capacity of about 34,000, and is still on target to be open by 2028.[24]

On June 8, 2024, Sam Mellinger, the Royals' vice president of communications, said that the team is evaluating "all options that may be available with respect to a new stadium," and pointed to the Kansas Legislature's upcoming vote to make changes to the state's Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) bonds program to attract major sports teams to the state.[25]

Features

Kauffman Stadium was the only baseball-only park built in the majors (not counting temporary facilities) from 1966 to 1991. It was one of the few baseball-only facilities built in the majors during the heyday of the cookie-cutter stadium era, and is one of two such facilities (with Dodger Stadium) that are still active and were never converted for use as multi-purpose stadiums.

Although a baseball-only facility, its design took several stylistic cues from the multi-purpose stadiums of the day, plus the Googie style that was more prevalent in the decades prior. The main stadium itself is primarily concrete, with a smooth, uncovered concrete facade. The stands wrap around the infield and end at the foul poles, with smaller bleacher sections (or "outfield plazas," as the Royals call them) in the outfield. In their book, The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip, Josh Pahigian and Kevin O'Connell wrote that it is essentially one-third of a cookie-cutter stadium, containing only the seats in a cookie-cutter stadium that provide the best views for baseball.[26] The upper deck is quite steep, though not as high as other parks built during this time. Many minor-league stadiums built in the 1980s and early 1990s, as well as Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, employ a similar design.The park's best-known feature is the fountain and waterfall display (known as the Water Spectacular) behind the right-field fence. At, it is the largest privately funded fountain in the world.[26] The fountains are on display before and after the game and between innings, while the waterfalls are constantly flowing.

When the stadium was originally built, Kansas City was the westernmost major league city other than those along the Pacific Coast (1,600 mi. [2,600 km] away), which was a major reason why the Royals initially decided to use a faster-draining AstroTurf surface.[27] Before the Colorado Rockies expansion franchise began play in Denver, Colorado, in the 1993 Major League Baseball season, the Royals' "home" territory included the Rocky Mountains in addition to a large swath of the Great Plains, and Kauffman didn't want fans who drove many hundreds of miles to go home without seeing games completed. The Truman Sports Complex's legendary groundskeeper, George Toma, best known as the head groundskeeper for every Super Bowl, thus had the job of maintaining two carpets for most of his career. He also maintained the surface at Arrowhead Stadium, which had AstroTurf from 1972 through 1993. However, Toma has said that artificial turf requires a good deal of maintenance as well; his crews were able to keep Royals Stadium's original carpet for two decades, somewhat longer than the typical lifetime for outdoor artificial turf.[28] This is also due to the fact that Kauffman Stadium has never hosted a football game, and has no movable seating, thus avoiding the wear and tear typical of cookie-cutter stadiums.

The stadium's AstroTurf was replaced by grass for the 1995 season. As part of the project, 4adj=onNaNadj=on perforated tiles were installed at 12.5feet centers across the entire field in order to improve drainage.

In 2014, the Royals started placing a "W" on the Hall of Fame wall for every home win, similar to the Chicago Cubs hoisting a white flag with a blue "W" at Wrigley Field for every Cub home win.

Renovations

Prior to the 1991 season, a Sony Jumbotron full-color video board was installed beyond the left field wall. At tall and wide, it was the largest of its kind in the United States when it debuted, and remained in use through the 2007 season.

In order to generate more home runs, Kauffman Stadium's outfield fences from bullpen to bullpen were moved in ten feet from their original dimensions, and the outfield wall height was reduced from to prior to the 1995 season. They were returned to their original dimensions prior to the 2005 season.[29]

On opening Day 1999, minor renovations were debuted, including the addition of the "Crown Club" premium seating area behind home plate between the dugouts, and dugout level suites. Kauffman Stadium's seats originally featured a descending color scheme of red, gold, and orange, similar to Arrowhead Stadium; the original field level seats in Kauffman Stadium were replaced by dark blue seats, and by 2000, the gold loge level seats and red upper level seats were all replaced by dark blue seats, the field level seats also getting cupholders.

On April 4, 2006, Jackson County voters approved a 0.375% sales tax increase to fund plans to renovate the Truman Sports Complex. As part of this measure, every Jackson County residential address was to receive vouchers good for 50% off two tickets at Royals games on certain nights. The construction began with a ceremonial groundbreaking inside Kauffman Stadium on October 3, 2007, with completion of Kauffman Stadium in time for Opening Day in 2009, and full renovation of the complex (including nearby Arrowhead Stadium) by 2010, depending upon cost overruns. The team committed to a lease that will keep them in Kansas City until 2030, an extension of their current lease expiration of 2015.

The improvements to Kauffman Stadium included the following:

Extensive renovations in the outfield including the relocation of the bullpens caused the left and right center field dimensions to be increased by .

The new HD scoreboard was one of the first features to be installed.[30] It replaced the matrix board in the shape of the Royals logo that had been in use in the park since its opening, along with the video board in left field. It was adorned with a crown, giving it an appearance similar to the old matrix board. The new scoreboard was ready for Opening Day 2008. It is wide and tall, and was, at the time it entered service, the largest high-definition LED display in the world.[31] The Kauffman Stadium screen was eventually surpassed by the new scoreboard at Seattle's T-Mobile Park in 2013.[32] The display was assembled in 55 separate segments, including an active bottom taper to resemble the shield in the Royals logo. The video scoreboard alone cost $8.3 million, and the control room that operates it is staffed with 17 people on game days.[33] Strobe lights atop the crown flash after every Royals home run.

A second proposal on the April 2006 ballot would have installed a rolling roof at the Truman Sports Complex. The roof could have been moved to cover either Kauffman Stadium or Arrowhead Stadium when needed. The proposal was defeated by less than 4,000 votes.[34]

Concerts

width=12% style="text-align:center;;"Datewidth=10% style="text-align:center;;"Artistwidth=10% style="text-align:center;;"Opening act(s)width=16% style="text-align:center;;"Tour / Concert namewidth=10% style="text-align:center;;"Attendancewidth=10% style="text-align:center;;"Revenuewidth=20% style="text-align:center;;"Notes
August 17, 1975Fleetwood MacFleetwood Mac TourThis concert was part of the Summer Jam Festival.
July 15, 1978Van Halen1978 World Tour$423,904This concert was part of the Summer Jam Festival.
September 1, 1979REO SpeedwagonNine Lives Tour34,089[35] This concert was part of the Summer Jam Festival.[36]
September 21, 2018Billy JoelBilly Joel in Concert40,589 / 40,589$4,500,565First Concert not associated with a baseball game at the stadium in 39 years.[37]
July 19, 2022Def Leppard & Mötley CrüePoison, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts & Classless ActThe Stadium Tour--
September 23, 2023Guns N' RosesAlice in ChainsWe're F'N' Back! Tour--

Buck O'Neil legacy seat

Beginning with the 2007 season, the Royals had a red seat placed in the stadium amongst the all-blue seats behind home plate to honor Buck O'Neil. Every game, there will be a person who embodies the spirit of Buck O'Neil selected from community nominees to sit in that seat, formerly occupied by O'Neil. The seat is located behind home plate in what was Section 101, Row C, Seat 1, until 2008. Due to the stadium renovations and accompanying section renumbering in 2009, the seat number is now Section 127, Row C, Seat 9, and the seat bottom is now padded. O'Neil played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues from 1937 to 1955.

Statues

Four statues lay out in the outfield concourse behind the fountains. Three of the statues are located in right field (George Brett, Dick Howser and Frank White). The fourth is located in left field, and is the former Royals owner Ewing Kauffman and his wife Muriel.

Notes

Candlestick Park, Angel Stadium, and Jarry Park Stadium were all originally built as baseball-only facilities. Candlestick Park has been demolished, and Jarry Park Stadium was renovated into Stade IGA, a tennis-specific stadium with only a small portion of the original stadium present. Both Candlestick Park and Angel Stadium were converted to multi-purpose facilities. Anaheim Stadium, now known as Angel Stadium of Anaheim, was re-converted into a baseball-only facility in 1996, though that venue continues to host high school playoff football games.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History of Kauffman Stadium. . KansasCity.Royals.MLB. February 3, 2017. 2016.
  2. News: Engineering Firm's Founder Has Retired. Steve. Everly. The Kansas City Star. January 13, 1991. April 28, 2018.
  3. News: New Stadium for Royals in 1972 a Question Mark. St. Joseph News-Press. August 19, 1971. April 28, 2018.
  4. News: Kansas City Royals 3, New York Yankees 2. Retrosheet .
  5. Web site: Fans can take Metro bus to Kauffman Stadium. Cronkleton. Robert. The Kansas City Star. April 3, 2015. April 29, 2019.
  6. News: 2023 . Secret memo reveals 'staggering' cost of new Royals stadium for Jackson County taxpayers . Kansas City Star .
  7. Web site: Royals open to new Kansas stadium if lawmakers approve STAR Bonds. Olivia. Johnson. June 8, 2024. June 16, 2024. en. fox4kc.com. Fox 4 KC.
  8. Web site: Kauffman Stadium History. Kansas City Royals. April 28, 2018.
  9. Web site: Webb Spinner 1969-1970.
  10. News: Royals rap Rangers, 12-1. Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Woodling. Chuck. April 11, 1973. 23.
  11. News: Shivering fans find new KC stadium leaks. Pittsburgh Press . UPI. April 11, 1973. 59.
  12. News: 'Ryan Express' hurls no-hitter at Royals. Lawrence Journal-World. Lawrence, Kansas. Associated Press. May 16, 1973. 24.
  13. News: Angels' Ryan roars through Royals with no-hitter. The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. UPI. May 16, 1973. 13.
  14. News: Blazing Ryan finally gets his gem. Eugene Register-Guard . Eugene, Oregon. wire service reports. May 16, 1973. 1D.
  15. News: Royals luck out in fight for survival. Pittsburgh Press . Donovan. Dan. October 18, 1980. B1.
  16. News: Phillies win 1st world championship . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Feeney. Charley. October 22, 1980. 19.
  17. News: Boxscore: NL All-Stars vs. AL All-Stars - July 10, 2012. Major League Baseball. April 28, 2018.
  18. News: Royals eliminate A's on Salvador Pėrez's walk-off single in 12th. Associated Press. ESPN. October 1, 2014. April 28, 2018.
  19. Web site: Spedden. Zach. 2020-01-31. Pendulum Unveils Vision for Downtown Kansas City Royals Ballpark. 2021-02-03. Ballpark Digest. en-US.
  20. Web site: Royals pursuing new downtown Kansas City ballpark. Royals.com. Rogers. Anne. November 15, 2022. November 15, 2022. en.
  21. Web site: Royals narrow potential ballpark sites to North Kansas City, East Village. Truong. Wilson. KSHB.com. June 15, 2023. June 15, 2023. en.
  22. Web site: Royals Relocate: Club announces move from Truman Sports Complex to the Crossroads. Dailey. Greg. kctv5.com. February 13, 2024. February 13, 2024. en.
  23. Web site: Voters reject stadium tax for Royals and Chiefs, leaving future in KC in question. Associated Press. Skretta. Dave. April 3, 2024. April 30, 2024. en.
  24. Web site: Royals unveil plans for ballpark in downtown Kansas City. ESPN.com. February 13, 2024. February 13, 2024. en.
  25. News: Anstine . Jack . June 8, 2024 . Royals explore Kansas as potential home for new stadium . KSHB . Kansas City, MO . June 10, 2024.
  26. Book: Josh Pahagian. Kevin O'Connell. The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip. 2004. Lyons Press. Guilford, Connecticut. 1-59228-159-1.
  27. Book: Smith, Curt. Curt Smith (author). Storied Stadiums. registration. 2001. Carroll & Graf. New York City. 0-7867-1187-6.
  28. News: KC legend Toma earns groundskeeping honor. mlb.com. Kaegel, Dick. January 10, 2012. April 28, 2018.
  29. News: . Is It Time To Move In The Fences At The K Once More?. Fox Sports. Los Angeles, CA. May 14, 2013. September 2, 2021.
  30. Web site: Daktronics installs world's largest HD display for Kansas City Royals. October 4, 2007. April 28, 2018.
  31. News: Royals Fans to Watch Highlights and Replays on World's Largest HD Display. April 28, 2018.
  32. News: Baseball stadiums by the board. 14 April 2012. PDF Graphic. Chicago Tribune. April 28, 2018.
  33. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/567629.html Royals scoreboard is a vision of the future
  34. Web site: Kansas City voters OK sales tax for sports renovations . ESPN.com . 21 January 2022 . en . 5 April 2006.
  35. Top Box Office . . September 15, 1979. 2020-03-29.
  36. Web site: 09/01/1979: Nine Lives @ Royals Stadium - Concert Archives. www.concertarchives.org. April 28, 2018.
  37. Web site: Jeffrey. Flanagan. Joel booked for first show at The K since '79. MLB.com. January 19, 2018. April 28, 2018.