Renovated Kauffman Stadium Receives Mostly Positive Reviews

Kauffman Stadium Opens With "Life Behind The Outfield Walls" After $250M Renovation

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: Royals fan A.J. Glaze said that "changes need to be made in the concessions." Glaze "had to stand in too many different lines to get all the items she wanted." For example, you "couldn't get cheese in the pretzel line -- you had to go to the nacho line to get it." Royals fan Richard Blake "liked the looks of the new stadium," but "felt too squeezed in his seat." Blake: "We're in Section 421, and I am surprised the aisles are still tight. We're squeezed in like sardines" (K.C. STAR, 4/11).

BUILDING BLOCKS: In K.C., Sam Mellinger profiled Populous, which designed the ballpark's renovations. Royals Owner David Glass said, "When I listen to baseball owners talk about building new stadiums, (Populous) is the only name I hear. They've got all this experience, all these ideas, yet they are not insistent that their ideas are the best ideas. They'll listen to whatever you say, and they'll incorporate that into their vision of what the thing will look like." Since '91, 21 MLB teams have built new ballparks and "all but five of them hired Populous." Mellinger wrote Populous Senior Principal Earl Santee "thinks major renovations like the one here at Kauffman are the future of his business, so it's important that everything's perfect." But "more than all that, it's important for reasons that are more personal than professional." Santee: "I live here. It's my friends, my family, my colleagues that will go to this building. So, yeah, we spent more time on that" (K.C. STAR, 4/11).

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