The NEW Kauffman Stadium - post your reviews

[kcmetro]

That Kansas side was going to pay for and build a 400 million dollar baseball stadium for the Royals?  That’s some funny shit.  Would they have STAR bonded the entire state to pay for it?  If they did, where it would it go?  Speedway, K-7 corridor?  Kauffman stadium’s location sucks, but it’s still within 20 minutes of 1.2 million people.  A location on the far west side of town would have cut that in half.  Bottom line is it would not have helped the Royals to build a stadium in Kansas and I don’t think that was ever even a possibility anyway.  Besides, if this community wanted a new park, which the overwhelming majority didn’t, it would have been built downtown and not in Kansas.

If this town had a clue, it would have built a downtown stadium and kept the Chiefs at the TSC, which our without the help of the Kansas side.  That didn’t happen.

Had nothing happened, both teams would be in serious trouble today.  Far more serious than I could have imagined back when the city was debating this topic.

I imagine Sebelius would have tried to get the Royals over to KS.  Not saying it would be a good location, but it might've been a possibility.

I wanted the stadium downtown too...maybe in the E. Loop area.

[KCMax]

That Kansas side was going to pay for and build a 400 million dollar baseball stadium for the Royals? 

They are just as likely as any other city, which is pretty low. No city is willing to pony up to get a relocated baseball team. Look how hard it was to move the Expos to DC, a huge metro area willing to build a stadium. The Royals weren't going to go anywhere. Charlotte rejected a stadium initiative after the Twins pretty much promised they would move there. Portland shows no interest in building a stadium (and their support of minor league ball is very weak). Any other plausible market would be much smaller than KC.

Its a moot point though. Season ticket sales are low because the team has sucked for well over a decade. I don't really blame fans for that. No baseball team is entitled to good attendance numbers. Baseball teams, like any company, must work hard to attract customers. And the formula is VERY simple in sports, the greatest way to lure customers is WINNING.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Its a moot point though. Season ticket sales are low because the team has sucked for well over a decade. I don't really blame fans for that. No baseball team is entitled to good attendance numbers. Baseball teams, like any company, must work hard to attract customers. And the formula is VERY simple in sports, the greatest way to lure customers is WINNING.

Agreed - I think the other logical fallacy Grid is depending on is the notion that the Royals recent payroll increases have much of anything to do with the stadium improvements.  Those are mostly due to massive increases in league income and revenue sharing.  Glass is getting such a giant check from the league he had to start spending some on payroll. 

[NDTeve]

Agreed - I think the other logical fallacy Grid is depending on is the notion that the Royals recent payroll increases have much of anything to do with the stadium improvements.  Those are mostly due to massive increases in league income and revenue sharing.  Glass is getting such a giant check from the league he had to start spending some on payroll. 

Unlike Carl Peterson.

[bobbyhawks]

To paraphrase Scott Van Pelt last night on our lovely 15 second game highlight between the 45 minutes of NBA and New York team banter... "I've said it before and I will probably say it many more times this summer... I LOVE, absolutely LOVE what the Royals have done to their stadium."

I still haven't been, and will always be a "should've built it downtown" guy, but this is nice to hear.  I'm excited to see the new digs and enjoy games for the next 10 years (when we are revisiting the upgrade/move scenario again).

[KCMax]

To paraphrase Scott Van Pelt last night on our lovely 15 second game highlight between the 45 minutes of NBA and New York team banter... "I've said it before and I will probably say it many more times this summer... I LOVE, absolutely LOVE what the Royals have done to their stadium."

I still haven't been, and will always be a "should've built it downtown" guy, but this is nice to hear.  I'm excited to see the new digs and enjoy games for the next 10 years (when we are revisiting the upgrade/move scenario again).

I believe Van Pelt is from Maryland, but he has some sort of affection for this area. He treks to Allen Field House every year for a KU game, and he usually has good things to say about the Royals and has mentioned Arthur Bryants BBQ on occasion.

[WSPanic]

To paraphrase Scott Van Pelt last night on our lovely 15 second game highlight between the 45 minutes of NBA and New York team banter... "I've said it before and I will probably say it many more times this summer... I LOVE, absolutely LOVE what the Royals have done to their stadium."

I still haven't been, and will always be a "should've built it downtown" guy, but this is nice to hear.  I'm excited to see the new digs and enjoy games for the next 10 years (when we are revisiting the upgrade/move scenario again).

Yeah - Van Pelt has been VERY complimentary of the new K all year long. The first highlights he did all year for a home game - he said he "couldn't believe how good it looked" two or three times. It is nice to hear.

[aknowledgeableperson]

I wanted the stadium downtown too...maybe in the E. Loop area.

Just for the sake of discussion, a downtown stadium would have been a loser: financially for its cost, for its location, and would have never happened due to lack of support (KCMO voters would not pass the tax if it was a KCMO only tax and for sure Jackson County voters on a county-wide tax).
Why would you take land that is suppose to be some of your most valuable land and devote it to a ballpark, one that isn't used 25% of the year?  Instead of downtown, build it in the midtown area.  As an example, at Linwood and Main (Linwood to Armour, Main to Broadway).  You would have mass transit access, accessable to downtown, the Plaza, and Westport.  By car one could travel north/south by either Main or Broadway and further west SW Trafficway, east/west by either Linwood or Armour and further 31st and 39th Streets.  Not saying the voters would have supported a proposal like this but it might have had a better chance than a downtown stadium.  It might have had a better chance especially it sold to the voters with a huge redevelopment plan for the area.  Plus, being closer to the Plaza it might have more support from the heavy hitters in the community.

[rxlexi]

  AKP, the reason that one would be interested in building a DT ballpark is because the land downtown is in fact far from the most valuable in the metro.  KCMO/MO is forced to heavily subsidize just about anything that goes up DT due to the lack of demand and competition from equally subsidized but easier to develop ring suburbs.  You know this.  There are large tracts of developable open space or underutilized buildings that may not see profitable high density development for 10 or 20 years, if ever again (north and east loop, for example).  Might as well fill them with attractive uses like brand new stadiums that at least can draw a crowd on game night.  Otherwise, the land will just sit empty indefinitely.  No one wants to build new construction office or residential buildings DT right now, and there may never be the demand to fill the entire loop or greater downtown. 

  To say that a stadium is wasting space in a city like KC (or just about any midwestern or rust belt city), where there is more available land downtown than folks that want anything to do with it (except cheap to build and maintain surface parking) is simply not true.  The idea of having a stadium DT is to concentrate amenities and investment in a relatively small area.  In a place where there is damn near zero demand for weekend or after hours activity (any midwestern CBD, outside of your P&L's), a stadium at least pulls in hundreds of thousands of people when it is open, which is more than the nonexistent draw that empty land provides year after long, slow year, waiting for development to materialize in market without the demand to create it.

[StL_Dan]

Alright...here is my review of the newly renovated Kauffman after attending the Saturday night game against the Tigers a week ago:

OUTSTANDING

36k people out milling around in every corner of stadium....elbow to elbow at some points....more open in others.  The new SRO section in RCF is fantastic.  The LCF G.A. seats - OUTSTANDING.  The renovated suites -OUTSTANDING.

It was quite the shock to be at a Royals game when the home team is down 9-1 in late innings....and noone is going home! 

Great baseball experience.

One of the best parts of the evening was being able to walk the enitre perimeter of the park - dodging in and out of virtually every interesting seating location - and seeing people smiling and having a blast hanging out with friends in a more relaxed but intensely baseball oriented atmosphere. 

I'm like all the rest of those that wanted a dt baseball stadium - however....HOWEVER....the Royals pulled off a fantastic renovation.

The game experience at the K is no longer sterile and blah.  Now it has some sizzle...some cool angles....a much much better baseball experience.

I tip my hat.

[aknowledgeableperson]

Might as well fill them with attractive uses like brand new stadiums that at least can draw a crowd on game night.  Otherwise, the land will just sit empty indefinitely. 

As others have pointed out stadiums do not create the economic activity that many preach as being the truth, that stadiums are important for downtown activity.

And what land downtown is empty now?  That is the 4 to 6 blocks needed for a stadium?  The land may be underutilized but not vacant.  And with all of the downtime that comes with a stadium just think of how dead those blocks will be for a big majority of the year. 

What would make downtown more attractive for residences would be easy "transit" access to a stadium.

As a side note, even the two newest stadiums is baseball are not downtown, or what one might considered downtown New York (Manhattan).

[kcmetro]

As a side note, even the two newest stadiums is baseball are not downtown, or what one might considered downtown New York (Manhattan).

Please.  NYC is so dense, it doesn't really matter where those stadiums are, just as long as they're in NYC (not Staten Island).  Transit connects them to the rest of the city.  And who the hell is going to move Yankee Stadium from the Bronx???  That's like moving Allen Fieldhouse to Eudora.  NYC doesn't need their stadiums downtown, because it's a totally different kind of city than 99% of U.S. cities.  Nobody needs to tell you that.

[LenexatoKCMO]

New/old Yankee Stadium is located in a dense, multi-use urban neighborhood that's dicey enough that ballpark spin off has never really materialized.  New/old Shea is located in an industrial wasteland that might as well be TSC with subway service. 

[Highlander]

As others have pointed out stadiums do not create the economic activity that many preach as being the truth, that stadiums are important for downtown activity.

You're right they don't create economic activity, there's only X amount of money to be spent in a metro whether or not a stadium is downtown or in Belton.  What they do accomplish, however, is helping to concentrate economic activity so that instead of a strip mall restaurant every mile or so on a suburban road that nobody from outside the metro would ever venture into the city to patronize, a more dense entertainment district can thrive that actually can become a regional attraction.  That district, in turn, can help drive the hotel/convention industry etc... 

[chrizow]

heading to the game on wednesday.  let's have a rundown of the tips:

* where can one find boulevard beer (pale ale) now that the glorious sheboygan/boulevard stands are gone?
* where are the good hot dogs/brats (if there is more than one vendor)?
* any tips for beating the traffic going into the stadium?  i remember going to a game last year where there was a huge line of cars backed up to 70 trying to get into the parking lot, but i just went around the whole line and entered through a different entrance farther south.  anything like this anymore?

[KCPowercat]

1 - Wheat is at a lot of stands...not sure about Pale Ale.....the LF bar?  I'll look tonight
2 - they have foot longs at a lot of places...I think those have been raved about...just look for them displaying their dongs through windows
3 - Why would anybody tell you THAT?  Honestly on Wed. you probably won't have a traffic issue but if coming from the plaza, take Cleaver to Stadium Drive.

[WSPanic]

I have yet to see Pale Ale anywhere. They have some random beers spread throughout - Pilsner Urquell, Blue Moon, Smithwick's, Guinness, Harp - and some organic beer in a bottle. Just have to keep your eyes open.

There are brats and footlongs all over the place. There are Grill-like setups in a few areas, but no Sheboygan or premium beer seems to be associated with the.

Traffic on 70 can be bad when you mix rush hour with a 7p start, but not too bad. Can't imagine it would be a huge deal this week. If you take 70 - I think you can still hop off on Manchester and take the Stadium Drive entrance. I tend to try and avoid the highways altogether and head towards Stadium Drive via Cleaver II, Linwood or something along those lines.

[chrizow]

I tend to try and avoid the highways altogether and head towards Stadium Drive via Cleaver II, Linwood or something along those lines.

this sounds appealing, but on google maps i cant see how it works.  i can generally see how cleaver/van brunt goes up towards stadium dr., but i see a "leeds trfcwy" in there as well - is that how to go?  is that area still all screwed up with construction? 

[GRID]

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.

[KCPowercat]

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.