The NEW Kauffman Stadium - post your reviews

[chrizow]

Blvd has their own portable stand behind the visitors dugout now. Looks like the 'pub' setup. Had pale and wheat from what I saw.

Score! 

our seats are on the visitors side, eight rows up and a few rows past the dugout.  should be fun!

[KCMax]

Score! 

our seats are on the visitors side, eight rows up and a few rows past the dugout.  should be fun!

Sounds like you get to watch Sidney Ponson. My apologies.

[WSPanic]

Blvd has their own portable stand behind the visitors dugout now. Looks like the 'pub' setup. Had pale and wheat from what I saw.

Chriz. U can take leeds, it hits stadium drive.

They have one on the 1st base side as well. Hoping for more than just Pale and Wheat.

I used to take I-70 to the game from midtown - usually got off on Manchester to avoid any problems up by Blue Ridge. However, we got screwed by accidents a few times. About five years ago, we started taking Cleaver II to Leeds (occasionally Linwood). I wouldn't say it's faster, but it isn't slower and it's always easier. Sometimes you get a train at the crossing, but very rarely.

[KCPowercat]

I had the misfortune of being in the car during Keitzman's show and caught his rant about if there are over 20k people there people should make sure they eat beforehand unless they want to stand in line for 3 innings.

So I made it a point to check it out. Lines last night were moving quickly and typical line lengths. The one bathroom by the dri-duck seats continues to fill up quickly but people are learning to just move to the next. Worst case scenario it takes 85 seconds to walk to the old bathrooms in lf under the overhand which has a ton of urinals. Not sure about anybody else but I would much rather the outfield experience have fan stuff not just huge bathrooms.

Anyways, point is people are learning the stadium and it appears the food lines aren't an issue that they were. Food is improving as well it seems.

[NDTeve]

Agree about the bathroom lines. People are starting to figure them out...

[KCMax]

I take I-70 to the games, and GRID describes it perfectly, you'll likely breeze through. To leave the game I take the back ways - take a right on Raytown Road, take a right on Stadium Drive then take Leeds to Cleaver will take you right to the Plaza and there is basically no traffic that way.

[GRID]

I take I-70 to the games, and GRID describes it perfectly, you'll likely breeze through. To leave the game I take the back ways - take a right on Raytown Road, take a right on Stadium Drive then take Leeds to Cleaver will take you right to the Plaza and there is basically no traffic that way.

Same deal leaving.  You don’t have to be in the far left lane of the parking lot exit road to get onto NB Blue Ridge.  It’s a triple left.  Then once you are on NB Blue Ridge, stay in the second lane from the left and use the damn dual left lanes to get onto WB I-70, you will be out of the park and on the interstate in minutes.

My only beef is that we have the reserved parking in lot A and unless I drive the SUV so I can jump the curb, I am forced to go with the traffic flow which forces all traffic from that lot out to Raytown Road which can take a while.  They close off the exits from that parking lot to the main perimeter road (which gives direct access to Blue Ridge).  Not a big deal, but if I did have something to complain about…

Back to the topic:

Here are some Sox fans impression of Kauffman Stadium.  Not too bad really..

http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/vbul ... p?t=111556

I tend to agree with the general sentiment of the thread.  Kauffman was “charming” but very country, dated and minor league at the same time.

I have always thought that, especially with the damn spinning pick-up truck and john deer ads everywhere.  The new park sort of brings the park more into the major league spectrum of ball parks.

[KCPowercat]

I would rather our park be called charmy and minor league rather than stabby, trashy, and deathy like most describe theirs.

[WSPanic]

I tend to agree with the general sentiment of the thread.  Kauffman was “charming” but very country, dated and minor league at the same time.

I have always thought that, especially with the damn spinning pick-up truck and john deer ads everywhere.  The new park sort of brings the park more into the major league spectrum of ball parks.

Tell that to Garth Brooks and Cotton-Eyed Joe

[KCMax]

Tell that to Garth Brooks and Cotton-Eyed Joe

Cotton-Eyed Joe is played at a lot of MLB parks and is like an unofficial theme song for the sophisticated cosmopolitan New York Yankees.

[KCPowercat]

I haven't heard 'the joe' this year...hopefully they lost the mp3.

[LenexatoKCMO]

I haven't heard 'the joe' this year...hopefully they lost the mp3.

They managed to find it one of the two nights I have been out. 

[WSPanic]

I haven't heard 'the joe' this year...hopefully they lost the mp3.

Was thinking the same thing until they busted it out last night.

Cotton-Eyed Joe is played at a lot of MLB parks and is like an unofficial theme song for the sophisticated cosmopolitan New York Yankees.

Well, it's hip and ironic in NYC.

By the way - my biggest complaint this year regarding the new stadium is that there is no radio/tv broadcast sound piped into the bathrooms. Just the "rally" sounds. What's the rationale behind having a TV every six feet in the concourses and cutting off all contact to the game in the bathrooms?

[KCPowercat]

I was there last night, I don't remember it. At least I thought I was there??

[KCPowercat]

Ws...yes, me as well. I was sitting hear earlier trying to remember what bugged me and no radio in the bathrooms was it. It also sounds like the outfield speakers don't work yet..or they are super quiet.

[StL_Dan]

I have never understood what the big deal is.  Just take the highways to the stadium exit (435 to Stadium Drive or I-70 to Blue Ridge).  Use all available lanes to get into the stadium rather than sit in a single file lane of dummies and you will get right into the stadium with almost no delay, even on sold out games.

Here is an example.

From 435 NB.  Do not sit in the far right lane and wait an hour till you reach the stadium.

Use the second to the left lane.  Use that lane all the way to stadium drive.  You will have passed by 1000’s of people.  Then take a double right (there are arrows and signs allowing this) onto stadium drive and stay in the inside lane and then pull into the gate from that inside lane. Bam, you are in the stadium.

If you take I-70, do not sit in the far right lane for an hour.  Use the second lane from the right.  Pass 1000’s of cars till you reach Blue Ridge, then you the double right.  Then as you travel SB on Blue Ridge, do not sit there and try to merge into the far right lane of Blue Ridge with all the other dummies, just keep driving past all that and pull into the gates from a lane other than the far right lane.  Bam, you are in the stadium.

Or you can take the weird ass short cuts through the ghetto and industrial areas where the roads are very narrow etc.  It’s a bit faster than sitting in single file lanes of morons, but it’s not near as fast as the way I described.  But it’s a great way to take tourists to the stadium to prove a point that the stadium is in a shitty location by showing them trailer parks, shack homes in the woods and abondoned factories when if you just take the highway, all they see is the stadium as you approach it and wonder how you are able to pass so many people to get into the stadium.

Great post. 

Just use the real estate that's given.

[AllThingsKC]

Just for fun, I collected some comparison pictures...

OLD:


NEW:


1973:
(The year the stadium opened)













[glow=blue,2,300]1985:[/glow]


1990:


2000:


2002:


2006:


2009:

[im2kull]

Nice post ATKC.

I never noticed how much bigger the new "Crown" is.  I had no idea it was THAT much larger!  One other thing I noticed, the area above the batters eye, the base of the scoreboard/crown, the giant green piece of concrete, is begging for something to be put there.  Anything.  Hell, paint back the HOF #'s.

[KCPowercat]

I disagree. Leave that alone, it looked tacky before.

[chrizow]

had a great time at the game last night.  we got there early to walk around and check stuff out.  the outfield area is pretty cool.  i thought the Rivals Sports Bar was going to be lame, but it's a nice, airy space with huge windows affording a great view of the game.  i don't know if anyone really hung out there during the game though. 

there weren't that many people at the game last night, so lines for everything were pretty much nonexistent.  (nonetheless, at the condiment stand some lady was complaining to me about standing in lines for "three innings."  uhhhh, you're doing it wrong...)  the food situation doesn't really seem much better at all - added some tacos and more pizza, etc., but as far as i could tell there wasn't anything too exciting.  adding beers like pilsner urquell, guinness, harp, smithwick's, etc. is cool but not that exciting.  i had a hot dog and shared some nachos and they tasted exactly the same as they ever have - which is to say, fine. 

i kind of felt like the new concourse areas and bathroom have an even more "dated" looking feel than the previous all-concrete.  it looks like 1994.  the outfield seating is pretty much the only thing i think was worth it.  how much was spent on this again?  it's a fine stadium, but god what a wasted opportunity.