Kansas City, Mo. ? Jim Fischer isn’t quite ready to introduce a barbecue hot dog to the menu at Kauffman Stadium.

Sure, other Major League Baseball teams have customized the quintessential ballpark food to their particular towns. In Houston, for instance, the dogs are covered in chili, cheese and jalapeños.

Major League ballparks often dress their hot dogs to suit the tastes of local fans. Pictured are adaptations of the hot dogs served at the home ballparks of five Major League teams, clockwise from lower left: Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs.

But Fischer, who oversees the food operation at Kansas City Royals games, isn’t sure you’d want to add barbecue sauce to a hot dog.

“I don’t know,” he says. “I’d want to try that.”

Fischer is general manager at Centerplate, the company that handles all of the Royals’ concession stands and souvenir shops. Starting next week, his company will be feeding the throngs of fans who enter the gates at Kauffman Stadium.

While there might not be much leeway for customizing the hot dog for Kansas City tastes, Fischer and his crew are constantly adding new food options for Royals fans.

Not surprisingly, the Gates Barbecue stand at the “K” is one of the more popular locales at the ballpark.

“I think it’s typical,” Fischer says of Royals’ fans food tastes. “But I think people expect with how popular barbecue is in this area, that there will be a barbecue option. Gates has been here eight or 10 years at the stadium, and it’s something people really look for.”

Another local option at Kauffman Stadium is sausage made by Scimeca’s Italian Sausage Company, another Kansas City institution. This year, a new, healthier chicken sausage also will be on the menu.

“Fans have become more demanding as far as having more variety and healthier eating options,” Fischer says. “There’s more diversity on the menu that’s being requested today.”

New items at the ballpark this year include:

¢ Barbecue nachos with pulled pork. Also available with steak and chicken fajita meat

¢ Chocolate chip cookies and chocolate milk

¢ Brat burgers (bratwurst meat shaped like a hamburger)

¢ Deep fat fried White Castle hamburgers

¢ Steak sandwiches

And then there are other standbys at Royals games. Those include Sheridan’s Frozen Custard and Planet Subs, the corporate sibling to Lawrence-based Yello Sub.

Fischer admits it’s sometimes difficult to convince Royals fans to break out of their hot dog-and-peanuts mold. (Beef jerky, for instance, didn’t sell well at the stadium).

“I think people come to a ballgame, and every time they come, they know what they like,” he says. “We have to challenge people sometimes.”

When renovations begin at Kauffman Stadium, Fischer expects there to be even more options available for food.

But for now, he’s hoping the sweet smells from the concession stands make the Royals hungry for victory.

“Our biggest hope is the Royals have a good season,” Fischer says. “That makes everything taste better.”