Take Me Out To The (Local) Ballpark
by Gigi Cowell
Kansas City and its Midwestern
neighbors are blessed with an abundance
of baseball, played in beautiful ballparks
housing teams at nearly every
professional level.
The beloved home of the Kansas City Royals, Kauffman
Stadium, affectionately known to locals as “The K,” is only
35 years old, yet it is the eighth-oldest stadium in major league
baseball. Jackson County voters recently approved
a tax increase to renovate the Truman Sports Complex,
which includes Kauffman and Arrowhead Stadiums, home
of the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs.
When the dust settles next year, Kauffman will feature
a right-field restaurant, fountain-view terraces, widened
concourses on all three levels, an outfield concourse
that will allow fans to walk around the stadium 360
degrees and a permanent Hall of Fame exhibit.
The most stunning of the improvements is already in place: the largest HD scoreboard in the world, called CrownVision. The elaborate graphics are provided by Mission, Kan.-based Dimension X Design. DXD co-founder Gary Baker, is proud to put his company’s global experience to work here at home. “We already do in-game graphics for eight other major league baseball teams, and it is awesome to be able to help the baseball team in our own backyard—no matter where you sit, you feel like you can reach out and touch the players,” he said.
Wyandotte County’s emerging Village West development is host to CommunityAmerica Ballpark and the minor-league Kansas City T-Bones, which plays in the independent Northern League. This beautiful facility was completed in June 2003 after only nine months of construction. The ballpark has a cozy, retro feel, offering 4,365 seats, a spacious concourse that circles the ballpark, and several other fan-friendly amenities. The park is also home to concerts and community events, and is the temporary home to the Kansas City Wizards Major League Soccer team.
Omaha is a popular daytrip and weekend destination for Kansas Citians. There, 60-year-old Rosenblatt Stadium is host to two popular baseball entities—the Omaha Royals, the Kansas City Royals’ Class AAA farm team; and the College World Series, played at Rosenblatt every year since 1964. Known to locals as “The Blatt,” this 24,745-seat stadium is the recent recipient of $7 million dollars in renovations, boasting a large “exploding” scoreboard in the shape of the Royals’ crown logo, as well as a new playing surface and stadium club seating. A controversial proposal is in place to demolish Rosenblatt and build a new downtown stadium, but for now this slice of history remains a great place for baseball fans in the region to catch a game.
Kansas Citians have long enjoyed weekend excursions
down I-70 to catch the St. Louis Cardinals. The original,
enclosed Busch Stadium was demolished after 43 years
of service, replaced in 2006 by the new Busch Stadium.
The 46,700-seat venue has been embraced by Cardinals
fans, by and large baseball purists who are among the
most passionate sports fans anywhere. Earl Santee is
one of the designers of the new park and a senior principal
at Kansas City-based HOK Sport. “Busch Stadium represents
everything a ballpark should be, with fantastic views
of St. Louis’s icon, the Arch, architecture fitting of its time
and place, and amenities for every fan.”
Hammons Field is the centerpiece of a midtown
Springfield development that was completed in 2004. It is
home to the Springfield Cardinals, the Double-A Texas
League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. With a seating
capacity of 7,500, the ballpark boasts 28 luxury box seats,
a VIP lounge and a massive electronic scoreboard and
“JumboTron.” Minor League News hails it as one of the
most “beautiful minor league stadiums in the country.” 