Kauffman Stadium Upgrades Expected To Attract New Fans In '09
 |
Royals Calling Friday's Home Opener At
Kauffman Stadium "Official Grand Re-Opening" |
The Royals this season "expect to attract new fans who want to see" the newly-renovated Kauffman Stadium but "might have stayed away otherwise in this economy," according to a front-page piece by Michael Mansur of the K.C. STAR. The team is "feeling the economy's pinch," as season-ticket sales are "running about 8[%] behind last year." Royals Senior VP/Business Operations Kevin Uhlich: "Opening a new building and all the things happening between the white lines, we would have hoped it would be more. But the economy is affecting us." Kauffman Stadium has "new or renovated suites, now totaling nearly 40, but so far corporate cutbacks [have] left suites unsold." Uhlich: "We still have a few we need to sell" (K.C. STAR, 4/6). In K.C., Bradford Doolittle noted for the Royals home opener Friday, Kauffman Stadium "will be changed," as the team is "billing the day as the 'official grand re-opening.'" The upgrades allow "more room to maneuver," while the concourses "have been widened all over the park." There are "many more places to buy things, from food to merchandise to baseball cards." On the view level, "one tunnel on each side of the park has been widened into a plaza." The view level also "will have a new food court." The "hulking new Royals Hall of Fame dominates the view beyond the left-field wall, a multistoried structure with the Royals' retired numbers gracing the facade." The fountains in the outfield are "still there, but everything around them is changed." There are seats "stretching from the old general-admission sections all the way to the new batter's eye in dead center field." The old bullpens "are gone," replaced by "smaller pens much closer to the fans." Closer to center field, there is a "second deck, The Fountain Section, which has become the de facto general-admission area that was missing the last few seasons." But the Outfield Experience is "what really makes Kauffman Stadium seem brand new." There is a "baseball-card kiosk. A carousel. A miniature golf course. Slides" (K.C. STAR, 4/5).
|
Related Stories By Company
|
Related Stories By Sport
|
Should All-Star Game Impact World Series?
July 14, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
MLB Clubs Sell Section Naming-Rights
May 1, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Royals Open Renovated Kauffman Stadium
April 14, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Royals Enter '09 Season With Record Payroll
April 3, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Brewers Making Several Changes At Miller Park
March 30, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
|
Boras, Manfred Talk About Finances Escalate
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Selig: Concerns Around Economy Still Exist
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
MasterCard Present At WS DVD Premiere
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Hicks Hopes To Remain Rangers Majority Owner
November 19, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Selig Committed To Condensing Playoffs
November 19, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
|
|
