The NEW Kauffman Stadium - post your reviews

[droopy]

I heard (second hand) from one of the designers that they are fully aware that there are not enough restrooms to handle capacity crowds.  There are also not enough box offices to sell tickets to anticipated walk-ups for a capacity crowd.  It’s a numbers game, and there simply aren’t enough in the plan to accommodate sold out games.  It’s my impression this was not a choice the designers made. 

It seems to be a bit defeatist to not build your stadium for capacity crowds, at least at some point prior to the next generation of renovations/rebuild.  I would hope there would be a more positive outlook on the future attendance.

[GRID]

I heard (second hand) from one of the designers that they are fully aware that there are not enough restrooms to handle capacity crowds.  There are also not enough box offices to sell tickets to anticipated walk-ups for a capacity crowd.  It’s a numbers game, and there simply aren’t enough in the plan to accommodate sold out games.  It’s my impression this was not a choice the designers made. 

It seems to be a bit defeatist to not build your stadium for capacity crowds, at least at some point prior to the next generation of renovations/rebuild.  I would hope there would be a more positive outlook on the future attendance.

Lower deck seats are fine from what I have seen.  It’s the upper deck and outfield that have some problems.  Even in sold out crowds, the restrooms and concessions below the main concourse are wide open.  Not sure why nobody ever goes down there, it’s about a 2 minute walk from the main concourse.

As max mentioned, I think the biggest problem is the lack of season tickets.  EVERYBODY goes on Friday or Saturday.  Massive walk up crowds too.  The crowds are 1/3 to ¼ the size Sun-Thur. Can we try for maybe 25-30k on Friday and Sat and 15-20 Sun-Thur?   Is it really too much to ask for people in this town to go out and do something on any day other than a Friday or Saturday night?  This is not just a Royals problem BTW.  I think it’s kinda of stilly to have 40k for two nights then 10k for the next week or two.  I know, I’m beating on a dead horse.

Having said that, In my wildest dreams, I never would have thought that after spending 250 million and hiring the best of the best of local sports stadium design firms, that something like the bathrooms would fail to that extent with capacity crowds.  I mean, one of the main reasons the stadium was renovated was for wider concourses and more restrooms.

I think it will be fixed though.  It might take 5 million worth of additional modifications, but the stadium has to function when are 35,000 people there.

Another major problem I have noticed is traffic jams getting to the stadium.  Something is not working there.  When they expect capacity crowds, they need to have better traffic control.

Traffic doesn’t bother me in the least.  I pass everybody and get right in while everybody else follows each other around in single file lanes.  But I passed 1000’s of cars on I-70 and Blue Ridge.  Everybody tries to get into one lane and it just clogs everything up.  If I just got behind everybody else, it would have taken me over an hour to reach a parking spot.  Cops need to force people into all available lanes.  It will slow me down, but then people won’t show up in the 3rd inning because of traffic. 

But again, go to a Tuesday night game when there is only 7,000 people in the stand and none of this matters.  It would be nice if there were 20k Sun-Thurs and 30k Fri and Sat.  It would make ALL the games more entertaining and fun.

[LenexatoKCMO]

As max mentioned, I think the biggest problem is the lack of season tickets.  EVERYBODY goes on Friday or Saturday.  Massive walk up crowds too.  The crowds are 1/3 to ¼ the size Sun-Thur. Can we try for maybe 25-30k on Friday and Sat and 15-20 Sun-Thur?   Is it really too much to ask for people in this town to go out and do something on any day other than a Friday or Saturday night?  This is not just a Royals problem BTW.  I think it’s kinda of stilly to have 40k for two nights then 10k for the next week or two.  I know, I’m beating on a dead horse.

Its pretty simple, Mon-Thu games will never be as attractive a product as Fri-Sat since it is harder for most folks to fit three-four hours of entertainment into school/work night planning.  The only way you siginificantly boost consistent demand on those weeknights is if the onfield product gets good enough that the desireable Fri-Sat night tix are impossible to get because of presale demand. 

As long as folks have a relatively easy time getting tix for the desireable nights, what incentive do they have to try and cram a less handy monday night or wednesday afternoon game into their schedule?  I think we are getting closer to this demand given that I struggled to find four tix to Saturday's game five nights out - but the on-field product is going to have to continue improving for this to really get traction.  20k people are not going to go out on a Tuesday night to watch bad pitching and a 2 run offense. 

[KCPowercat]

I'm betting the bathrooms per person are at any modern stadium...the issue here is everybody is flooding the outfield right now because that's the 'new' area to check out....that gawking won't remain at these levels in that area.

If that area does maintain the levels throughout the season, they add a bathroom or something...big deal.  Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

[GRID]

Its pretty simple, Mon-Thu games will never be as attractive a product as Fri-Sat since it is harder for most folks to fit three-four hours of entertainment into school/work night planning.  The only way you siginificantly boost consistent demand on those weeknights is if the onfield product gets good enough that the desireable Fri-Sat night tix are impossible to get because of presale demand. 

As long as folks have a relatively easy time getting tix for the desireable nights, what incentive do they have to try and cram a less handy monday night or wednesday afternoon game into their schedule?  I think we are getting closer to this demand given that I struggled to find four tix to Saturday's game five nights out - but the on-field product is going to have to continue improving for this to really get traction.  20k people are not going to go out on a Tuesday night to watch bad pitching and a 2 run offense. 

True.  One thing I never understood is the Sunday crowds.  They can't draw shit on Sundays.  It seems even worse than weekdays.  Is church causing that?  Seems like other cities draw well on Sundays.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Lower deck seats are fine from what I have seen.  It’s the upper deck and outfield that have some problems.  Even in sold out crowds, the restrooms and concessions below the main concourse are wide open.  Not sure why nobody ever goes down there, it’s about a 2 minute walk from the main concourse.

Thats easy - the lower deck, or "basement" as it is probably more properly referred, is almost entirely invisible from most parts of the stadium.  It really doesn't do much good at releaving crowds if 95% of the fans in attendance have no reason to know it exists.  

[GRID]

I'm betting the bathrooms per person are at any modern stadium...the issue here is everybody is flooding the outfield right now because that's the 'new' area to check out....that gawking won't remain at these levels in that area.

If that area does maintain the levels throughout the season, they add a bathroom or something...big deal.  Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Yea, but the upper deck bathrooms are having the same problems.  I don't remember them having that long of lines during big crowds last year and the upper deck has like 8,000 less seats this year.

They are probably just going to have to modify them again and hopefully they don't make the same mistake at Arrowhead.

[GRID]

Thats easy - the lower deck, or "basement" as it is probably more properly referred, is almost entirely invisible from most parts of the stadium.  It really doesn't do much good at releaving crowds if 95% of the fans in attendance have no reason to know it exists.  

Wonder if the can add some visible stairs from the main concourses down to that area.  I don't know since I don't have a set of stadium plans in front of me.  But at the very least maybe better signage will help.

[KCPowercat]

Yea, but the upper deck bathrooms are having the same problems.  I don't remember them having that long of lines during big crowds last year and the upper deck has like 8,000 less seats this year.

They are probably just going to have to modify them again and hopefully they don't make the same mistake at Arrowhead.

they did, my seats used to be up there...it's a renovations, couldn't really add any bathrooms up there would be my guess.

What modifications do you think they should make up there, knock out more concessions for pissers?  Seriously.


This is a whole lot of nothing, just watch...3 months, everybody will have their location and pattern down and even with 30k plus you won't have these complaints.  If not, then they add or reconfigure bathrooms...even the best in the world can't fully predict how the masses will react to those new areas.

[GRID]

they did, my seats used to be up there...it's a renovations, couldn't really add any bathrooms up there would be my guess.

What modifications do you think they should make up there, knock out more concessions for pissers?  Seriously.


This is a whole lot of nothing, just watch...3 months, everybody will have their location and pattern down and even with 30k plus you won't have these complaints.  If not, then they add or reconfigure bathrooms...even the best in the world can't fully predict how the masses will react to those new areas.

I was thinking more along the lines of bringing back the troughs and or dual entrees.

[GRID]

I think this has been asked before, but anybody know if they are painting the "KC" logo and the back side of the scoreboard?

[im2kull]

Regardless of what you are drinking, if you include drive time a game can be a six hour experience.  I am glad I am not one of Grid's kids on the ol' family vacation - "What are you crying about?  It's only four hours till we get to the hotel . . . "   :lol:

I still don't see why everyone HAS to take a piss at the ballgame.  Drinking or not, if you can't hold yourself for 6 hours max then you should consult a doctor.  If you're not smart enough to visit a bathroom before you leave for the game, or know when your body is telling you that its ready to exhale, then that's your own personal problem.  There's no need to waste taxpayer money accomadating a minority of complainers, rather than buying new food vendors, ribbon screens, and Crown Vision, for the majority.

Seriously, why does everyone seem to goto the bathroom at the game?  Is it unnatural to hold yourself for more than 4 hours?  I piss maybe twice a day, that's like every 8 hours at the least.  People need to open their eyes and realize that there's more bathrooms at the K than just the outfield ones.  If you have to take a whizz that badly, then quit complaining about the lack of outfield bathrooms, and walk a mere 200ft to the concourse bathrooms.  Its like watching the same woman drive around a parking lot for half an hour looking for a close spot, rather than parking 10 rows back and taking 40 steps to the mall entrance.  How hard is that to understand? I don't see the problem with the way things are.  The supposed "Overcrowding" & lack of bathrooms is the biggest nit-picking womanish complaint that I have ever heard.  Hell, I suppose next we're all going to be listening to complaints about the lack of heated seats, and parking lot shuttle service.  But what do I know...I'm not the one who sounds like a machine gun on D Day, nor do I need the background noise provided by the outfield fountains to Get'r going...if you know what I mean.  :lol:


- Kull (Common Sense) Over & Out!  8)

[LenexatoKCMO]

True.  One thing I never understood is the Sunday crowds.  They can't draw shit on Sundays.  It seems even worse than weekdays.  Is church causing that?  Seems like other cities draw well on Sundays.

Yeah - I think that is somewhat of a factor of the same issue. Sunday should be an easy day for folks to plan around, but once again if they have an easy time getting in Fri or Sat, why wait till Sunday?

I do think that having a couple legitimate "must-see" pitchers will help balance things out some.  I remember back to the days when Appier and Cone were in their primes and people would go out of their way to go those games no matter what the night - especially if the opponent was also featuring a true ace.  I think Grienke and Meche are getting to that point.  There is enough buzz already growing around Grienke that I have to think he alone will boost attendance at least a few thousand for a weeday game.  The Royals org. spent most of the last decade forgetting that a legitimate ace pitcher will drive ticket sales - with the five man rotations we have trotted out the last ten years, there was never much of a reason to even bother looking at the matchups when choosing your tix, it was mediocre-crap starters most every night.  

[KCPowercat]

it was never dual entry...one was an exit up there....so it was you cutting in front of me in prior years?  I haven't been up there yet I have no idea how it's setup.

Troughs?  Then people complain about how dirty and unsanitary those are...

it's kinda like the cup holder thing...my seats in the outfield are on pretty high risers, so not really room for a cup holder unless you put it at people's feet (like at Sprint Center).....so what happens, I've heard complaints about no cupholders and at Sprint Center I hear complaints about the cupholders tripping people....can't freaking win designers can't.

[GRID]

it was never dual entry...one was an exit up there....so it was you cutting in front of me in prior years?  I haven't been up there yet I have no idea how it's setup.

Troughs?  Then people complain about how dirty and unsanitary those are...

it's kinda like the cup holder thing...my seats in the outfield are on pretty high risers, so not really room for a cup holder unless you put it at people's feet (like at Sprint Center).....so what happens, I've heard complaints about no cupholders and at Sprint Center I hear complaints about the cupholders tripping people....can't freaking win designers can't.

You should go up there.  The upper deck is awesome now.  There is more on the upper deck than I have seen in most of the newer stadiums upper decks by a long shot.  You don't have to go down anymore and if you do, the lower deck and outfield is so much easier to access with the stairs and elevators.

[im2kull]

It seems to be a bit defeatist to not build your stadium for capacity crowds, at least at some point prior to the next generation of renovations/rebuild.  I would hope there would be a more positive outlook on the future attendance.

We are talking about the same crowd that wants a downtown stadium built to a capacity of 25,000....Let's not forget that.  According to those people we shouldn't in any way draw more than 25,000 on a regular basis.  Capacity crowds at the K are what...39,000ish?  I doubt there's any reason to really build for those numbers, when it would only satisfy one or two games a year.  Its all about perception too, I'm guessing the K can handle 30k crowds with no problem.  I'm not saying capacity *36k* crowds, but I'm sure 30k and under crowds are a non-issue.

[TheSmokinPun]

Well, I can say this at least, watching a game in the Fountain seats arent so bad. Only have a little obstructed view of straight below us right field, and it was maybe only 10 feet or so.

Still an awesome win against the best team in baseball right now!

[NDTeve]

Im2Kull..so you can drink 6 beers at a game and not take a leak for 6 hours? Not everyone in the stadium has a catheter. 

[kcmetro]

I still don't see why everyone HAS to take a piss at the ballgame.  Drinking or not, if you can't hold yourself for 6 hours max then you should consult a doctor.  If you're not smart enough to visit a bathroom before you leave for the game, or know when your body is telling you that its ready to exhale, then that's your own personal problem.  There's no need to waste taxpayer money accomadating a minority of complainers, rather than buying new food vendors, ribbon screens, and Crown Vision, for the majority.

Seriously, why does everyone seem to goto the bathroom at the game?  Is it unnatural to hold yourself for more than 4 hours?  I piss maybe twice a day, that's like every 8 hours at the least.  People need to open their eyes and realize that there's more bathrooms at the K than just the outfield ones.  If you have to take a whizz that badly, then quit complaining about the lack of outfield bathrooms, and walk a mere 200ft to the concourse bathrooms.  Its like watching the same woman drive around a parking lot for half an hour looking for a close spot, rather than parking 10 rows back and taking 40 steps to the mall entrance.  How hard is that to understand? I don't see the problem with the way things are.  The supposed "Overcrowding" & lack of bathrooms is the biggest nit-picking womanish complaint that I have ever heard.  Hell, I suppose next we're all going to be listening to complaints about the lack of heated seats, and parking lot shuttle service.  But what do I know...I'm not the one who sounds like a machine gun on D Day, nor do I need the background noise provided by the outfield fountains to Get'r going...if you know what I mean.  :lol:


- Kull (Common Sense) Over & Out!  8)

I take it you don't drink beer? 

[LenexatoKCMO]

The frustrating part is that the organization spent the entire off season and construction period touting how amazed fans would be at the improved restroom and concession facilities and how there weren't going to be lines in the concourses.  Yet quite a few people seem to actually be having a worse experience in those areas than before.  This has been their selling point for the last eighteen months - 'no more waiting in line for bathrooms', 'no more long concession lines'.