Royals, Fans, & Fountains: A Night at the K

Kansas City Royals

Kauffman Stadium

Cleveland Indians (Guardians) @ Kansas City Royals

Date of Game: Saturday, October 1, 2016

Time of Game: 3:16PM CST

Final score: Indians-6, Royals-3

Section 201, Row G, Seat 6

We attended the second to last game on the last weekend of the Royal’s 2016 season and it was a super fun experience! Tickets were purchased before the trip began, as this was the focal point of our trip to Kansas City. The weather was mild, 68-70s and overcast at the start of the game, but cleared up around 5:00PM. We brought jackets just in case. From the in-person baseball games I have experienced so far, this was my favorite. The fan culture, the views and the activities made Kauffman Stadium a place I’d go back to and recommend others to go to also. This stadium had a lot to offer, and I think even non-baseball fans could enjoy themselves for the afternoon.

Although our hotel was in walking distance from the stadium, we chose to drive because it seemed less stressful. Not being from the area, I was a little hesitate about walking back to the hotel as it got dark. As I am writing this after the experience, I’d probably still opt to use the parking lot instead of walk, provided the parking fee wasn’t outrageous (it wasn’t). It leaves options to go somewhere else after the game instead of walking back to the hotel for the car.

Driving the few blocks and finding the parking was easy. We were so close that we could see the workers directing traffic into the stadium. There was a little bit of congestion on the side streets leading to the parking area, which is to be expected, but once we got into the parking lot it disappeared. The baseball stadium and football stadium share the same parking, so there were tons and tons of spaces to choose from. Of note, the stadium is right off of I-70 also known as George Brett Super Highway.

To get to our seats, we walked past a beautiful fountain that is visible from inside the stadium. (I read that Kansas City, Missouri is known for its fountains and there are fountains throughout the area). The fountains were on throughout the game. As dusk descended, the fountain lit up with different color lights. It is an eye catcher for sure!

I’m not sure that we had to, but we also walked past the Miller Lite Fountain Bar when we arrived on the second level in left/center field.  The one thing that I love about sitting in the outfield or even in the upper decks is that you get to walk amongst more fans and see different areas inside the stadium. Of course, in the upper decks you need to worry about fly balls, but I digress.

For this game, the fans were very active, vocal and entertaining. Many of them seemed to recognize each other and were screaming across rows to say hello. A few passed out business cards (probably because it was the end of the season so they can keep in touch), and shared mini gifts that they brought from either the bar or with them. So, there was a lot of seat swapping and visiting different areas throughout the game. By mid-game several of the fans in our area had begun wearing team shirts, and they shouted out to the baseball players. It was fun to be seated in this area, there really wasn’t a dull moment.

Kauffman Stadium has a mini-golf course along the concourse as you enter the stadium. This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like that. I think it helps make the baseball game a central part of a family weekend afternoon experience. From what I remember, you could purchase a ticket to the stadium and gain access to the concourse where the mini-golf area was, but you wouldn’t have a stadium seat to sit and watch the game.

It was near to the mini-golf area where we got our helmet ice creams at Belfonte Ice Cream Shop. The ice cream shop was enclosed by glass windows.  It wasn’t really a walk up like you’d see in a lot of stadiums. The line was out the door and that made it impossible to see for sure that they sold the helmets.  We walked by the store a few times to see if we saw anyone walking out of the store with an ice cream helmet. Unfortunately, we didn’t so we got on the line. Fifteen minutes later we were walking out with our ice cream helmets!

While we were here, we also bought hot dogs as our dinner. The hot dogs were $4 each. That’s relatively inexpensive for some of the baseball stadiums we’d already been to. I think the price of the hotdog along with the entry ticket and mini golf makes for a nice afternoon for the family, or just to get together with friends outside with the option to pay for food or drinks.

I read recently that the Royals may be leaving Kauffman stadium for a more upgraded stadium closer to the city. It was specifically about whether the fountain would be moved to the new location. I can’t help but feel sad about that, especially since I wrote about how warm and welcoming, I felt my Kauffman stadium experience was. Isn’t that what baseball is supposed to be about?

Some information, such as baseball game information and directions were sought by using ChatGPT.

Written August 21, 2024

​​©2024 Theri’s Travel Tales