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

Busch Stadium

St. Louis Cardinals (National League)

8/10

The exterior of the ballpark the afternoon after the game I went to, before I headed out.

The StL skyline as Cardinals/Brewers is about to start.

The stadium the next morning, taken from the top of the Gateway Arch.

I first went to Busch Stadium(the current one) in June 2015. I had broken up the long trip from Houston by driving to Texarkana the night before and stopped at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock before heading to St. Louis. This was a Monday night game, featuring a Cardinal team that would have the best record in baseball that season, against a Brewer team that would finish 32 wins behind them.

This Busch stadium, is a retro modern park built more or less in the heart of Downtown St. Louis. Light rail runs right beside the third base side of the stadium, this is how I got to the game from my hotel in the area of the Zoo. There is a good view of the skyline from the upper deck, including the Gateway Arch, as well as the old courthouse nearby. Right across the street from left field is "Cardinals Nation" a bar/restaurant type-place, which rakes in the money for the team before and after games. The only strange thing about this place is while the third level concourse has an unobstructed view of the field, the bottom one doesn't, with only a few pockets fit to stand and watch the game.

The big plus of this place for me, was the atmosphere. For a Monday night, usually the quietest of the week, against a lousier, but divisional opponent, there were an eyelash over 40,000 people here. It ended up being a 1-0 win for the Brewers, with the run coming in the top of the 1st and some tension in the bottom of the 9th, with a few video reviews. The fans were very much into the game, but not rabid, like in some other places. Cardinal fans enjoy a seemingly random reputation for being knowledgeable and well-behaved and I can't disagree after coming here. This place is up there with Wrigley and San Francisco in terms of atmosphere, at least according to me.

The slight knock, was the food. There didn't seem to be a whole lot you couldn't do anywhere else. I went to a Hardee's on the third base side of the upper deck and paid 17.50 for a burger, fries and drink, there's high-priced concessions, which are kind of the norm, and then there's this insanity. Only Toronto is worse, in my experience.

Overall, even gougy concessions can't take away from the increasingly rare pleasure of a big crowd, watching baseball for baseball's sake. Between that and the hotel(The Moonrise, on University Blvd.) I will be back in St.L at some point.

Update 2020: It's very hard to believe that it's been almost 5 years since I was here. I would love to update this place this year, but am not too sure about my summer schedule. St. Louis continues it's solid relationship with the Cardinals, finishing 2nd in attendance for 2019, averaging just under 43k a game. If you look up "Busch Stadium replacement" this place is it. Having only opened in 2006 and drawing good crowds, there's no talk of a new park and I wouldn't expect this to change for at least the next 10 years. A point for atmosphere and concession, with a minus for expensive food mean this place is a solid 8.


Linescore
2015-06-01
                          123     456    789    RHE
Milwaukee           100    000    000     160
St. Louis              000   000    000     081
Temp: 65F   Time: 3:05  Att: 40,689