Kansas City, Mo. ? A big new scoreboard is not the only thing going up at Kauffman Stadium. So is the price of tickets.

The Royals announced Tuesday that the average price for single-game purchases will increase next year by almost 15 percent, going to $23.76 per ticket from $20.67. That does not include the so-called “premium games” such as those with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Prices for season-ticket holders will go to $16.62 from $14.46 per game.

The Royals still will rank 27th among the 30 major-league clubs in average ticket price based on 2007 pricing, the club said. The average price per season ticket in the majors this past season was $22.69, the Royals said.

Kevin Uhlich, the Royals’ vice president for business operations, said a survey of 10 small- and medium-market teams found that the Royals’ price for premium seats was about $9 below the average.

“We need to try to play a little bit of catch-up. We’re never excited to raise prices. But over the past five years, we’ve raised them very little,” Uhlich said.

From a public-relations standpoint, the ticket price increase seems ill-timed. The stadium is in the midst of a $250 million renovation paid for almost exclusively by a county sales tax. Voters were told the tax was necessary in order to refurbish the stadium to increase revenue streams and keep the Royals competitive with other clubs.