Royals Stadium

Lore & Background

Kauffman Stadium was built specifically for baseball during an era when building multisport "cookie-cutter" stadiums was commonplace. It is often held up along with Dodger Stadium (1962) in Los Angeles as one of the best examples of modernist ballpark design. It is currently the only stadium in the American League to be named after a person and is also one of eight stadiums in Major League Baseball that does not have a corporate-sponsored name. The stadium is the sixth-oldest stadium in the majors and has hosted the 1973 and the 2012 MLB All-Star Games, along with Royals home games during the 1980, 1985, 2014, and 2015 World Series. Between 2007 and 2009, Kauffman Stadium underwent a $250 million renovation, which included updates and upgrades in fan amenities, a new Royals hall of fame area, and other updates throughout the facility.

In Their Own Story

The September air hangs thick and sweet over the outfield grass, carrying the faint char of charcoal from the concession grills three rows back. A kid in a faded 1985 Brett jersey tugs at his father's sleeve, pointing at the scoreboard where the score reads 3-2, bottom of the ninth, two outs. The father doesn't look at the kid. He looks at the mound. The pitcher winds up. The crowd — thirty-seven thousand people who have been here for three hours, who have eaten the same overpriced pretzel, who have argued with strangers about the catcher's sign — goes silent in the way only a Kansas City crowd can go silent: not quiet, but *held*, like a breath caught in a throat that has been shouting since the first pitch.

The ball leaves the hand. The crack is not a sound; it is a small, bright violence that splits the humid air. The kid yelps. The father's jaw tightens. For one suspended instant, the entire Westwood neighborhood, the overpass, the parking lot full of cars with Royals flags on the antennas — all of it is a single organism, waiting.

The play is made. The crowd exhales. And somewhere in the upper deck, an old woman in a 1985 pennant cap whispers the word the mule never got to hear: *again*.

Reader's Guide

The stadium opened on April 10, 1973, with a 12–1 win over the Texas Rangers. It hosted the first of its two All-Star Games on July 24, 1973. The first World Series game held in Kansas City was on October 17, 1980, against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Royals clinched their first World Series title in franchise history on October 27, 1985, winning Game 7 in Royals Stadium 11–0 over the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2012, the stadium hosted its second All-Star Game. The stadium hosted the Royals' first playoff game in nearly 29 years in 2014, and also hosted games of the 2015 World Series, which the Royals won in five games.

Did You Know?

• The stadium was originally named Royals Stadium when it opened in 1973.
• Ewing Kauffman, the stadium's namesake, was a local pharmaceutical magnate.
• The stadium is part of the Truman Sports Complex, alongside Arrowhead Stadium.
• The 1985 World Series was won by the Royals in seven games, not six.