Kauffman Stadium

Kansas City Royals, American League

8/10

The crowd files in on a hot August night in 2022.

Photo stop on the upper deck in 2022.

The fountains pregame in 2015

I rolled into Kansas City in June 2015, coming from St. Louis and a trip earlier that day up the St. Louis Arch. The park is located on the eastern outskirts of the city, off of, or right next to I-70, and Arrowhead Stadium in the "Truman Sports Complex". The Royals were matching up against a divisional rival in Cleveland. I ended up staying at a hotel directly across the Interstate and just walked there. There's a bucket of parking around here, as besides the two stadiums, that's really all there is. The park has been recently renovated, with a bit more going in in the outfield, but still retaining some of the concourse.

I indulged in a brisket sandwich, or pulled pork or something like that, it was not too bad. Lines for concessions were relatively short.

The big plus here is atmosphere. In a strange way, KC feels like a big Triple-A park, but its not a bad thing. There's that kind of an intimacy between the fans and the players that you won't see too many places anymore. Doesn't hurt that this was a Royals team that would go on to win the World Series.

Overall, this is a bit of a quirky major league park with a minor league atmosphere(that's good, honest) and decent food. I'd give the park, food and atmosphere all half points, which would round down to an 8.

Update 2026: I made it back down here as part of a Midwestern loop in 2022. This was as far south as I went this trip. The hotel across the highway ended up being closed, so I stayed about 15 minutes away and drove in.

The park had been renovated since I'd been, with several open air bars in the outfield concourse that are open to the public. The waterfalls, were naturally still there. The parking ended up being 30 bucks prepaid. A half point for facility.

The food, like a lot of venues associated to MLB, was card only. Being KC, there was lots of BBQ and spinoffs (BBQ Nachos) plus ballpark staples. It seemed good enough. I'd give another half point. I did find the lines a bit wild, with about half the crowd as the first time.

The atmosphere was also a half plus. I noted it was definitely not a "Quadruple A" park anymore as the crowd got behind a Royals team that didn't last too long at all against a contending San Diego squad. I'd leave this one as an 8. I think it's one of the better parks in MLB for fans getting a good experience for the price of a ticket. One of the more "blue collar" parks in the Majors.

But, the only constant with teams and their stadiums is change. The Royals, in April 2026 announced plans to partner with the Hallmark corporation to build a new park, closer to downtown KC, to open for the 2030 season. Funding and whatnot is still getting lined up, but with the NFL's Chiefs already committing to build a domed stadium on the Kansas side of the river for 2031, expect local government to fully back keeping the Royals in KCMO. I'm not sure if I'll get a third and likely final visit to "The K" in, but I'm glad I got in two, especially the second one.

Linescores

2015-06-02

                    123  456   789  RHE

Cleveland    000   100   010  260

Kansas City 001   000  000  150

Time: 3:16  Temp: 74F   Att: 30,361

2022-08-26

                       123  456  789   R H E

San Diego      312  001  402   13 19 2

Kansas City    001  400  000   5 11  0

Time: 3:37  Temp: 88F Att: 16,479