I just returned from a Seattle Mariners game and let me say that I wasn't let down one single bit. Built about 10 blocks from the main downtown area, Safeco field sits at roughly the edge of "downtown" development. From the middle of downtown Seattle, it took me approximately 20 minutes to walk to the stadium. Once there I was very impressed with it's structure, wide concourses, spacious bathrooms, accessibility to many food vendors, field architecture, etc etc etc.
This place was great. The cheap seats were $7 and they were bleachers, not chairs, but still, $7 is a deal. There isn't a bad seat in the house, I tried several out. Everything about this place was great.
And it's built in a location where parking isn't RIGHT there. Don't get me wrong, there is parking available, but most people park and walk, take the bus, taxi it, or just walk. For fun, on the walk back to my hotel, I counted the number of bars/nightclubs on 1st Street from the stadium to Spring street (nine blocks)... 22. And that's JUST 1st street.
The location of Safeco in comparison to the Washington Park idea is roughly the same distance from field to downtown KC. The walk wasn't bad at all and really, I can see some good comparisons between the Crossroads district and the part of Seattle I walked through.
I see Safeco as a great working example of what a stadium in downtown KC could be. Oh, and so you know, Verizon is a major sponsor of Safeco field, and my phone had full service, can't say that about Sprint, now can we?