Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals)

Kansas City

  

  

  

Independence, MO (Drive to KC)

St. Louis (Drive from KC)

  

Ballpark Assessment

Category Score (0 to 10)					TOTAL (0 to 50)
Location	Atmosphere	Food	Exterior Architecture	Interior Architecture
3	7	4	5	6	25

The two most impressive aspects of the Royals' Kauffman Stadium are 1) the large KC Royals sign in deep center field that overlooks Interstate 70 (east of downtown KC), and 2) its location next door to the iconic Arrowhead Stadium (home of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs).  That is not to say that the rest of the stadium was dull, but it just didn't feel like a baseball stadium.  The ballpark, especially from the outside with it's endless sea of parking lots as far as the eye could see, felt a bit more like a football stadium where they happened to play baseball.  The upper deck is very steep and the stadium is very concrete-rich, alla most football stadiums.

That being said, Kaufmann stadium has a lot going for it inside the turnstiles.  First off, the ballpark is a very family-friendly place to watch a game.  There are fountains for kids to run through, benches for parents to watch their kids run through fountains, and a miniature golf course, carrousel and jungle gym for the disenchanted baseball fan to enjoy.  Also, the pedestrian walkway in the outfield has a memorabilia store, a tribute to the legends of Royals baseball, and a seemingly out-of-place miniature replica of the Statue of Liberty painted in KC Royals blue and white.

Game Comments (courtesy of MLB.com)

Game Date: June 25, 2010

Attendance: 38,916

Weather: 91 degrees F, partly cloudy

Length of Game: 2 hours, 47 minutes
Final Score: Kansas City Royals 4, St. Louis Cardinals 2

Zack Greinke frustrated the Cardinals in the I-70 Series opener to pick up his third win of the season. The Royals took the lead for good with a three-run third inning that saw Jose Guillen extend his hit streak to 19.

Stories from the Road

On my drive to Kansas City, I stopped in Independence, MO to visit the home of the late President Truman.  The area around the Truman home is a very quaint section of Independence, MO, which has a lot of old-fashioned shops where they sell soda pop and ice cream floats.  In addition to being the post-presidency home of Harry Truman, Independence is also the site of the beginning of the Oregon Trail, which made me wonder if the true title of "Gateway to the West" belongs to Kansas City instead of St. Louis.

My low expectations of Kansas City were greatly surpassed as I stumbled upon a great outdoor music scene in the center of the city after the game.  The stage was centered around 2 floors of bars/clubs/restaurants of all different types and sizes.  There was a hip hop club in one section, a sports bar in another and a cigar lounge/bar in a third, etc.  Overall, it was a great atmosphere to listen to some good music and relax.

The next morning, I had to drive to St. Louis to catch my flight back to Philadelphia.  I would have stayed in the midwest for the weekend, but a few coworkers were having a joint birthday party and I wanted to see them after being away for so long.  Along the drive I past a couple small oil wells, which I assume were surely minting the owners of the property a small fortune.  I also had some time to walk around St. Louis before I had to head to the airport.  I visited the famous Gateway Arch.  There are some great views of downtown St. Louis and Busch stadium (as well as the firm's local office) from the top of the arch.