KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -First stop was to the mini field with the cartoonish plastic bats and rubbery turf. Then came a few pitches through what looked like living room blinds, followed by a few swings against a video version of Joba Chamberlain.
After that, a race against Royals shortstop Mike Aviles, a quick round of putt-putt, maybe a spin around the carousel on a lion wearing a crown.
Oh, yeah, there was a baseball game going on, too.
After a hectic offseason construction schedule and a 30-minute pre-game party, Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium debuted on Friday after a $250 million renovation. Even with the Yankees in town, this day was all about the new K.
atching. It’s beautiful.”
Kauffman Stadium was always a great place to watch a game. Cozy, those cool fountains in the outfield, not a bad seat in the house – there wasn’t much not to like about the place.
But live sports are no longer just about the game on the field. Fans, particularly ones with kids, need something to do other than try to get on the video screen or chase foul balls. The food has to be good, not just weenies and overfoamed beer. Dot races – hot dogs, pinballs, or whatever oddball race they can think of – no longer do the trick.
Hoping to add to the overall experience, the Royals overhauled their 37-year-old ballpark with a touch of pizazz. Same feel, just a different look.
There’s a new administrative building, a new writing press box and dining area, broadcast booths, and renovated suites. But the real appeal is to the fans, though there will be fewer of them: the capacity dropped nearly 2,600 to 38,177.
The scoreboard, in keeping with Royals’ tradition, is in the shape of a crown. Difference is, it’s more than four stories high.
The concourses have been widened an average of 13 feet, providing cruiser lanes for those fans who believe they can make it back to their seats with four beers, six hot dogs and three popcorns – without spilling something.
re treated to plenty of extra festivities: jugglers on stilts, balloon animals, a live band belting out “Play That Funky Music” next to the barbecue stand in left-center. The pre-game included video montages, marching bands and cheerleaders, fireworks, and a fly over by four fighter jets.
Maybe it was a bit much, but, hey, you don’t get to do something like this very often.
“It’s once in a lifetime that you get an opportunity where you rededicate a stadium,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “The great thing about it is that all the wonderful things that we enjoy and recognize with Kauffman Stadium – the crown scoreboard the water spectacular – and it’s only been enhanced with everything that’s been done.”
It starts in the outfield.
At the old K, the outfield was filled with fountains, a few seats in the corners and a parked car in left that served as a prize for anyone who could hit it (no one ever did). The only view was of the stop-and-go traffic on Interstate 70.
The Royals couldn’t do anything about the traffic and weren’t about to take down the park-defining fountains. They changed everything else, though.
m the Royals’ own barbecue joint. Statues of former Royals greats George Brett, Frank White and Dick Howser sit behind the scoreboard and a 7,000-square-foot Hall of Fame in left includes interactive exhibits and memorabilia.
Behind the concourse is where the action behind the action takes place.
There’s the Little K, a mini version of the stadium where kids can hit plastic balls. A batting cage has images of opposing pitchers throwing real baseballs to hitters through a hole in the screen. There’s a pitcher’s mound where kids can throw heat through what looks like vertical blinds covered with video images of opposing batters.
Fans also can test their speed to first against former and current players on a base path that has lights mimicking the time of the player running down the side.
For fans feeling baseball overload – or with small children – there’s a putt-putt course that includes a hole over a pitcher’s mound, an outside playground and a carousel.
“We’re having a blast,” said Kirk Berggren of Overland Park, Kan., who arrived three hours early with his 8-year-old son, Eli. “The new scoreboard is fantastic, the change in food is great – everything is really nice. It’s a lot of fun.”
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