You may not recognize Kauffman / LJWorld.com

Archive for Thursday, January 8, 2009

By Doug Tucker - Associated Press Sports Writer

January 8, 2009

Kansas City, Mo — Standing in mud and dust, often straining to be heard above the rat-a-tat-tat of concrete drills, Kansas City Royals officials said Wednesday they’re confident that Kauffman Stadium will be ready for opening day.

Whenever the massive $250 million renovation project does get finished, fans hardly will recognize the place.

Wraparound seating, extensive changes in the outfield and upper deck, wider concourses and added amenities are going to lend a nearly brand-new look and feel to the park the Royals have called home since 1973. They begin their home schedule April 10 against the New York Yankees.

“We need some good weather and some good breaks,” Bob Rice, vice president of ballpark operations and development, said during a hard-hat tour for the media.

The interactive Hall of Fame and museum behind left field is the only feature that is not scheduled to be open by April 10.

“It is a baseball stadium. At the end of the day, we have to have field lights. We have to have life safety,” Rice said. “We’re 100 percent certain we’re going to have all the life-safety issues. There may be pieces that aren’t finished, and if those aren’t finished we’ll work around those.

“We’re very confident in what we’ve got going on right now and the time we have left.”

For the first time since the stadium opened, fans will be able to watch the action from outfield seats that go right up to the towering center-field scoreboard.

Also new will be access areas where fans can walk around the entire stadium. Behind right field will be restaurants, an interactive children’s area, party decks and a picnic area for about 600-800 people.

The outfield fountains that have characterized the stadium since 1973 remain, but there will be seating so near to them that provisions are being made for windy days.

“The three rows on the right-field side will have standing room due to the misting of fountains,” Rice said. “If it’s misting heavily, we figure people will want to get up and move around.”

In left field, where the JumboTron used to be, will be a bar and more seating. That is also where the team Hall of Fame will be, along with party and meeting rooms. The Royals are planning a gala opening for the Hall of Fame somewhere around the All-Star break.

The high-end Stadium Club will remain between home plate and third base, but seating will be cut in half to about 180. While there will be extensive new seating in the outfield, the stadium itself will lose about 2,000 seats and have a capacity of around 39,000.

Tickets will be priced from $195 for the Crown Club behind home plate to $7 for general admission in the outfield.

About $225 million of the project is being funded by a Jackson County sales tax. Royals owner David Glass added $25 million.

“We’ve tried to give fans a lot of options, depending on what amenities they find important,” said Kevin Uhlich, senior vice president of business operations.