KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? Painters were standing on a scaffold in front of the left-field fence emblazoning large white letters that read: “CommunityAme.” By the time I departed less than an hour later, the lettering had evolved to “CommunityAmeri.”

Beyond the seats down the right-field line at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, workmen were spraying mulch into the playground area. Up front, staffers were unloading game programs from a truck. Countless boxes were stacked along the concourses. Outside, landscapers were drilling holes to insert trees in and around the parking lot.

Members of the grounds crew work on CommunityAmerica Ballpark, home of the T-Bones. The work was being done Thursday in preparation of the minor league baseball team's home opener tonight in Kansas City, Kan.

What’s the hurry? This was late Thursday morning and the Kansas City T-Bones don’t play their home opener until tonight.

Adam Ehlert, general manager of the Northern League team, striding here and there among the beehive atmosphere often with a cell phone in his ear, vowed the brand-new 4,548-seat ballyard would be ready for the debut of Kansas City’s other professional baseball team.

What Ehlert didn’t know was how many people would show for the home opener, or for the T-Bones’ first homestand that will continue through June 14. None of those games is sold out.

Eventually, I suspect, the T-Bones will play before large crowds, but not until the word gets out that the product, while obviously less aesthetic than what fans can see at Kauffman Stadium, is nonetheless palatable and, more important, affordable entertainment in an enjoyable atmosphere.

For starters, parking at the close-in paved lot — not the distant former cow pastures used by next-door-neighbor Kansas Speedway — is free. At Kauffman Stadium, home of the bottom-line Royals, they charge you $1 a wheel to park. That’s for the four tires, the spare and the steering wheel.

The highest price you can pay for a T-Bones ticket is $9.50. The lowest is $4.50, but you had better bring a blanket because you’ll have to sit on the grass behind the four-foot high right-field fence. And be advised that grass berm has a steep slope.

If you don’t want to pay full fare or impersonate a mountain goat to watch the T-Bones, go for the $7.50 ticket, the only other price level available. You’ll be sitting along either the left-field or right-field line, but you won’t need binoculars by a long shot.

How close will you be? Let’s put it this way. The distance from home plate to the first row is 55 feet. That puts front-row fans closer to the batter than the pitcher. All the seats have chairbacks, too, but be advised the cheaper seats are two inches narrower, if you need to consider the girth factor.

The best seats, as they are at all ballparks, are outside the second-level suites and the home of the T-Bones has 22 of those, most already locked up for the season.

Speaking of proximity, Kauffman Stadium is about twice as far from Lawrence as CommunityAmerica Ballpark. From Sixth and Massachusetts to the T-Bones yard is 27 miles, whether you take the turnpike or save a couple of bucks by driving US 24-40 highway right to the front door. Yes, the latter route is slower, but not bad once you’re through Tonganoxie.

To me, the signature attraction of CommunityAmerica Ballpark is its dimensions. Straightaway center field, for instance, is not the deepest part of the playing field. Center field is 396 feet from home plate, but nearby are 411- and 409-foot signs. There’s a jog for the bullpen gate near the 411 sign that produces a cranny that should spell trouble for outfielders.

“We’re calling it Death Valley,” a team official said. “We think there’ll be a lot of triples go in there, and the triple is the most exciting play in baseball.”

That’s assuming the T-Bones have any players who can hit the ball that far. The men wearing T-Bones uniforms are, for the most part, washouts from organized pro baseball — players no longer regarded as prospects by major-league teams and thus released.

“This is a second-chance league,” T-Bones skipper Al Gallagher has often said.

These are one- and two-tool guys — position players who can hit but don’t have a glove or wheels, or pitchers with a fastball but no curve, or a hook but no heater. They can play. They just won’t dazzle you with their skills.

If the players don’t thrill you, perhaps the whole experience will. CommunityAmerica Ballpark is a first-class venue. If you don’t believe me, check out the rest rooms. All of the plumbing fixtures are embossed with the T-Bones’ logo. If that isn’t classy, I don’t know what is.