Kauffman Stadium

"The K" redirects here. For the Latin character, seeK.For other uses, seeK (disambiguation).

Kauffman Stadium

“The K”
Kauffman Stadium in2017
Kansas City Location in the United States Kansas City Location inMissouri
Former names	Royals Stadium (1973–1993)
Address	1 Royal Way
Location	Kansas City, Missouri
Coordinates	39°3′5″N94°28′50″W
Public transit	KCATA:Route 47
Operator	Jackson Sports Complex Authority
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 (ALCSGame 2, October 9,1980,vs.New York Yankees)
Field size	Left Field– 330 ft (101 m) Left-Center– 385 ft (117 m) (1973-1994) 375 ft (114 m) (1995-2003) 385 ft (117 m) (2004-2008) 387 ft (118 m) (2009-present) Center Field– 410 ft (125 m) (1973-1994) 400 ft (122 m) (1995-2003) 410 ft (125 m) (2004-present) Right-Center– 385 ft (117 m) (1973-1994) 375 ft (114 m) (1995-2003) 385 ft (117 m) (2004-2008) 387 ft (118 m) (2009-present) Right Field– 330 ft (101 m) Backstop– 60 ft (18 m) (1973-present)
Surface	Kentucky bluegrass / Perennial ryegrass(1995–present) AstroTurf(1973–1994)
Construction
Broke ground	July 11, 1968(1968-07-11)
Opened	April 10, 1973(1973-04-10)
Renovated	2007–2009
Construction cost	$70 million ($480 million in 2023) $250 million (2007–10 renovations) ($349 million in 2023)
Architect	Kivett and Myers [HNTB]Populous (renovations 1997, 2009)
Structural engineer	Bob D. Campbell & Co. Structural Engineers
General contractor	Sharp-Kidde-Webb JV
Tenants
Kansas City Royals(MLB) (1973–present)
Website
www.mlb/royals/ballpark/

Kauffman Stadium(/ˈkɔːfmən/), often called "The K",is a baseball stadium located inKansas City, Missouri.It is the homeballparkofMajor League Baseball'sKansas City Royals.It is next door toArrowhead Stadium,home ofNational Football League'sKansas City Chiefs.Both make up theTruman Sports Complex.The stadium is named forEwing Kauffman,the founder and first owner of the Royals. It opened in1973asRoyals Stadiumand was named for Kauffman twenty years later on July 2,1993.Since its last major renovation in2009,the listedseating capacityis 37,903.

Kauffman Stadium was built specifically for baseball during an era when buildingmultisport "cookie-cutter" stadiumswas commonplace. It is often held up along withDodger Stadium(1962) in Los Angeles as one of the best examples of modernist stadium design. It is currently the only stadium in theAmerican Leagueto 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 thesixth-oldest stadiumin the majors and has hosted the1973and the2012 MLB All-Star Games,along with Royals home games during the1980,1985,2014,and2015 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 withJackson Countyexpires at the end of the 2030 MLB season.In 2024, the team announced their intention for the stadium to be located indowntown Kansas City'sCrossroads 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.As of June 2024, the team was considering relocating toKansas City, Kansas.

History

In 1967, voters inJackson Countyapproved the bonds for theTruman Sports Complex,which replaced the multipurposeMunicipal Stadiumand featured a football stadium for theKansas City Chiefsand a baseball stadium for theKansas 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 the1968 season,however, Finley moved the A's toOakland, California,and their brand-newmulti-purpose stadium.

Sunday, September 19,1976.Chris Knappof theWhite Soxpitches against Royals' outfielderTom Poquette;KC won 6–5.

After the move, SenatorStuart SymingtonofMissourithreatened 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 magnateEwing Kauffman.The new teams were due to start to play in1971.However, Symington forced MLB to move up the start date to1969as he was unwilling to have Kansas City wait three years to have baseball again. The other expansion team in the American League, theSeattle Pilots,were without a suitable stadium in1969and the accelerated schedule forced by Symington led to their bankruptcy after just one season. In1970,they relocated toMilwaukee, Wisconsin,as theMilwaukee Brewers.With lawsuits pending, Seattle returned to the majors with theMarinersin1977.

Jackson County continued its plans to build a newballpark.Like the rest of the complex, it was designed byKivett and Myers,and constructed by the joint venture of the Sharp, Kidde, andWebbconstruction firms.Royals Stadium broke ground on July 11, 1968, and was opened in on April 10,1973,with a 12–1 win over theTexas Rangersthat saw 39,464 fans in attendance.Five weeks later,Nolan Ryanof theCalifornia Angelsthrew the first of his sevenno-hitters,blanking the Royals 3–0, three walks away from aperfect game.Two months later on July 24, the stadium hosted thefirstof itstwoAll-Star Games.

Following the1976regular season, the Royals competed in the first postseason game of their history on October 9, but lost 4–1 at home to theNew York Yankeesin theALCS.The Royals won the next game 6–3 on October 10 for their first postseason win in Royals Stadium.

View of the stadium in1981

ThefirstWorld Seriesgame held in Kansas City was on October 17,1980,against thePhiladelphia Phillies.In the first inning,George Bretthit a home run down the right field line, and the Royals recorded their first-ever World Series win, 4–3 in ten innings,but lost the Series in six games.

On October 11,1985,in Game 3 of theALCS,Brett hit two home runs offToronto Blue JayspitcherDoyle Alexander,made a back-handed stop at third base to throw out a runner at home, and recorded the final out to give theRoyalsa much-needed 6–5 win. The Royals went on to win the American League pennant in seven games.

Two weeks later, on October 27, the Royals clinched their firstWorld Seriestitle in franchise history, winning Game 7 in Royals Stadium. Led by the pitching ofBret Saberhagen,Darryl Motley's two-run home run, and George Brett's four hits, the Royals beat theSt. Louis Cardinals11–0; 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.

View of the stadium during the National Anthem at the 2012 All-Star Game

In2012,the stadium hosted its secondAll-Star Game,which the National League won 8–0.

The stadium hosted the Royals' first playoff game in nearly 29 years when the city's former team, theAthletics,came to town in2014for theWild Card Game.Despite trailing 7–3 in the eighth inning, Kansas City rallied to win 9-8 and advanced to theALDS.They won their ALDS, theALCS,and hosted Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 of theWorld Series,but fell to theSan Francisco Giants.

In2015,Kansas City returned to the playoffs, this time as the top seed in the American League. Games 1, 2, and 5 of theALDSagainst theHouston Astroswere played at the stadium, with the Royals winning Games 2 and 5, as well as Games 1, 2, and 6 of theALCSagainst theToronto Blue Jays,with the Royals winning all three games. The stadium hosted games 1 and 2 of theWorld Seriesagainst theNew York Metsas a result of the American League winning theAll-Star Game6–3. The Royals wonGame 1(5-4 in 14 innings) andgame 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.In November 2022, team ownerJohn Shermanannounced the franchise's controversial intention to leave Kauffman Stadium before the lease ends after the 2030 MLB season,with intentions of building a new stadium indowntown Kansas City(East Village) orNorth Kansas City.

In April 2024,Jackson Countyrejected a ballot initiative to extend the Royals' pre-existing 3/8-cent sales tax for Kauffman Stadium to build a new stadium in theCrossroads districtin downtown Kansas City near the intersection of 16th and McGee streets (south ofT-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.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.The stadium would have a seating capacity of about 34,000, and is still on target to be open by 2028.

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 theKansas 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.

In August 2024,The Kansas City Starreported that the Royals were considering a new site for a downtown ballpark in Washington State Park, an area located betweenUnion StationandCrown Center.

Features

Kauffman Stadium as it appeared prior to 2009 renovations

Newly renovated on opening day2009

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 thecookie-cutter stadiumera, and is one of two such facilities (withDodger Stadium) that are still active and were never converted for use as multi-purpose stadiums.¹

Although a baseball-only facility, its design took several stylistic cues from the multi-purpose stadiums of the day, plus theGoogiestyle 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 Pahigianand 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.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 asGuaranteed Rate FieldinChicago,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 322 feet (98 m), it is the largest privately funded fountain in the world.The fountains are on display before and after the game and between innings, while the waterfalls are constantly flowing.

Giants vs Royals, August 10, 2014

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-drainingAstroTurfsurface.Before theColorado Rockiesexpansion franchise began play inDenver,Colorado, in the1993 Major League Baseball season,the Royals' "home" territory included theRocky Mountainsin addition to a large swath of theGreat 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 everySuper Bowl,thus had the job of maintaining two carpets for most of his career. He also maintained the surface atArrowhead Stadium,which had AstroTurf from1972through1993.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.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 the1995 season.As part of the project, four-inch (10 cm) perforated tiles were installed at 12.5-foot (3.8 m) 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 theChicago Cubshoisting awhite flag with a blue "W"atWrigley Fieldfor every Cub home win.

Renovations

Prior to the1991 season,aSonyJumbotron full-color video board was installed beyond the left field wall. At 30 feet (9.1 m) tall and 40 feet (12 m) 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 12 feet (3.7 m) to 9 feet (2.7 m) prior to the 1995 season. They were returned to their original dimensions prior to the 2005 season.

On opening Day1999,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 by2000,the goldloge levelseats and red upper level seats were all replaced by dark blue seats, the field level seats also getting cupholders.

Aerial view in August 2013

On April 4, 2006,Jackson Countyvoters approved a 0.375%sales taxincrease 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 forOpening Dayin2009,and full renovation of the complex (including nearbyArrowhead 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:

• Reducing seating capacity to 37,903
• Four new entry ticket gates
• Enhanced vertical circulation to all seating levels
• Wider concourses
• Two widenedvomitoriumportals in the upper deck
• Two widened vomitorium portals in the field level
• New and upgraded concessions and toilet amenities on all concourses
• New press facilities
• NewHDscoreboard, dubbed "Crown Vision," and control room
• 360-degree outfield concourse
• Fountain view terraces
• Outfield kids' area
• "Taste of KC" food court
• Right field sports bar-themed restaurant
• Left field Hall of Fame and conference center
• New group sales areas

Extensive renovations in the outfield including the relocation of the bullpens caused the left and right center field dimensions to be increased by 2 feet (0.61 m).

The newHDscoreboard was one of the first features to be installed.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 Day2008.It is 85 feet (26 m) wide and 105 feet (32 m) tall, and was, at the time it entered service, thelargest high-definition LED displayin the world.The Kauffman Stadium screen was eventually surpassed by the new scoreboard atSeattle'sT-Mobile Parkin 2013.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.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.

Concerts

The stage setup for the 2023Alice in ChainsandGuns N' Rosesconcert at Kauffman

Date	Artist	Opening act(s)	Tour / Concert name	Attendance	Revenue	Notes
August 17, 1975	Fleetwood Mac	—	Fleetwood Mac Tour	—	—	This concert was part of theSummer Jam Festival.
July 15, 1978	Van Halen	—	1978 World Tour	—	$423,904	This concert was part of theSummer Jam Festival.
September 1, 1979	REO Speedwagon	—	Nine Lives Tour	34,089	—	This concert was part of theSummer Jam Festival.
September 21, 2018	Billy Joel	—	Billy Joel in Concert	40,589 / 40,589	$4,500,565	First Concert not associated with a baseball game at the stadium in 39 years.
July 19, 2022	Def Leppard&Mötley Crüe	Poison,Joan Jett & the Blackhearts&Classless Act	The Stadium Tour	-	-
September 23, 2023	Guns N' Roses	Alice in Chains	We're F'N' Back! Tour	-	-

Buck O'Neil legacy seat

The O'Neil legacy seat

Beginning with the2007 season,the Royals had a red seat placed in the stadium amongst the all-blue seats behind home plate to honorBuck 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 theKansas City Monarchsof 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 HowserandFrank White). The fourth is located in left field, and is the former Royals ownerEwing Kauffmanand his wifeMuriel.

Notes

^Note 1:Candlestick Park(1960),Angel Stadium(1966), andJarry Park Stadium(1969) were all originally built as baseball-only facilities. Candlestick Park has been demolished, and Jarry Park Stadium was renovated intoStade 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

• Stadium site on MLB
• The History of Kauffman Stadium
• A taste of the future Kauffman Stadium

Events and tenants
Preceded by Municipal Stadium	Home of theKansas City Royals 1973 – present	Succeeded by Current
Preceded by Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Chase Field	Host of theMLB All-Star Game 1973 2012	Succeeded by Three Rivers Stadium Citi Field