This forum died since I stopped posting here. (Oakland, Clark: 2015, how much)

[kcmo]

Just saying. haha.

Here I'll start something. Build that downtown stadium for the Royals!

[Okey Dokie]

Welcome back….

Luzianne disappeared about the same time, too. The only conclusions I can draw are:

You two are the same person (like Superman and Clark Kent), or, you two ran off and got married to each other.

[KC_Retiree]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Just saying. haha.

Here I'll start something. Build that downtown stadium for the Royals!

Get it done

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Just saying. haha.

Here I'll start something. Build that downtown stadium for the Royals!

Glad you're still kicking.

We had an older long term florida poster that just one day stopped posting during Covid.....

Why not swing for the fences and ask for high speed rail?

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Okey Dokie

Welcome back….

Luzianne disappeared about the same time, too. The only conclusions I can draw are:

You two are the same person (like Superman and Clark Kent), or, you two ran off and got married to each other.

Nah, she left a few years before I did I think.

I still read this forum, I just rarely post anymore. Honestly, I'm too pro KC development and it's just exhausting constantly trying talk people there into wanting a more vibrant, modern and growing city.

I mean just reading the comments on the downtown baseball stadium is enough for me to enjoy going to urban ballpark and just not even try to convince KC that they are pretty amazing. KC is a very slow growth and stubborn place for the most part. Change does not come easy there.

But it will always be home, so I will always pull for KC.

Go Chiefs!

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

Glad you're still kicking.

We had an older long term florida poster that just one day stopped posting during Covid.....

Why not swing for the fences and ask for high speed rail?

I would just try and get the tram in a dedicated right of way first lol.

[James Bond 007]

The entire Missouri section of this forum is pretty dead anyway.

[SonySegaTendo617]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Just saying. haha.

Here I'll start something. Build that downtown stadium for the Royals!

I always liked the design of Kaufmann Stadium. Maybe it doesn't have as much bells and whistles as some of the newest other ballparks(i.e. Truist Park for the Braves, whatever the Rangers' newest ballpark is called, etc), but I like it still. I don't give two craps myself if say Oakland stops playing in the Coliseum(and which soon will occur), but I will miss Kaufmann so badly if they mive out of there.

Hope their new ballpark is nice, when the Royals mice there one day. But I have this bad feeling it won't have as much character, as Kaufmann does. To me when I've seen the Braves' new ballpark on TV, it to me(maybe unpopular opinion but I don't care) lacks as much character as Turner Field had. The new Rangers' ballpark isn't as bad, but I kinda miss the design of their previous ballpark. I think it's nice that those 2 former ballparks were reused for new purposes(Georgia State's football team now plays in the Braves' former ballpark, and I forget what they did with the old one for Rangers), over tearing them down. Of course with baseball teams, every few decades baseball teams clamor for a newer ballpark. I'm already hearing reports about the White Sox wanting to build a new park, by the early 2030s.

Carry on with KC discussion....

[KC_Retiree]

Originally Posted by SonySegaTendo617

I always liked the design of Kaufmann Stadium. Maybe it doesn't have as much bells and whistles as some of the newest other ballparks(i.e. Truist Park for the Braves, whatever the Rangers' newest ballpark is called, etc), but I like it still. I don't give two craps myself if say Oakland stops playing in the Coliseum(and which soon will occur), but I will miss Kaufmann so badly if they mive out of there.

Hope their new ballpark is nice, when the Royals mice there one day. But I have this bad feeling it won't have as much character, as Kaufmann does. To me when I've seen the Braves' new ballpark on TV, it to me(maybe unpopular opinion but I don't care) lacks as much character as Turner Field had. The new Rangers' ballpark isn't as bad, but I kinda miss the design of their previous ballpark. I think it's nice that those 2 former ballparks were reused for new purposes(Georgia State's football team now plays in the Braves' former ballpark, and I forget what they did with the old one for Rangers), over tearing them down. Of course with baseball teams, every few decades baseball teams clamor for a newer ballpark. I'm already hearing reports about the White Sox wanting to build a new park, by the early 2030s.

Carry on with KC discussion....

Kaufman Stadium is pretty old. It was built in the early 70's opening in 1973 making it over 50 years old. I don't think anyone has an issue with the park itself (other than it is definitely going to need an extensive renovation) but many do have an issue with the location. It was build in a semi-industrial/residential part of KC both of which have gone downhill since that time and the stadiums have never sparked any sustainable offshoot development. Consequently, people in KC drive to the stadium, park in its extensive surface parking lots, and go home.

The owners are now wanting a stadium that is more integrated with the city, closer to a large downtown population that can simply walk to the stadium or take the the expanded street car, with plenty of restaurant/bar options available (with come controlled by the owners). Kaufman has a great design and is a pleasant enough place but I rarely go to games any more. Partly because the Royals suck but mostly because I just don't like where the ballpark is. There's no options for a dinner before or drink afterwards. It's a very sterile environment which many Kansas Citians don't seem to mind but it's not my preference.

[kcmo]

The Royals are NOT staying at Kauffman no matter how much people cry about staying there. If KC people want to keep Kauffman so bad, it will be without a team. The Royals will ultimately leave KC.

Kauffman needs hundreds of millions of dollars worth of renovations, (probably closer to a billion) for that stadium to last another 30 years.

It makes zero sense to put that kind of money into that stadium in that location. There is no return on the investment for the team or the city. That's why the Royals are not going to even entertain the idea of staying at Kauffman.

Arrowhead needs a ton of work too, but NFL and MLB are very different. It makes more sense to renovate Arrowhead. It's only used 10-20 days a year and requires a ton of parking. It would also cost a couple billion to replace it.

KC is a very small market now for MLB. When KC got the As and the early days of the Royals, the metro was like the 20th largest and the economics of MLB was very different. KC had a high payroll in the 80's for example. Now KC is like the 31st largest metro. KC also draws very poorly, even when dong well. In 2015, they drew a record 33k a game, but any other city (besides Tampa) would draw more. And the fans left as fast as they came and basically gone again by 2018. Milwaukee is the only metro smaller than KC and they draw 35k a game if the Brewers are even playing 500. Once Oakland moves, KC will be last in attendance and will have one of the most outdated stadiums. The Royals will become the number one candidate for relocation.

You have many cities that are desperate for a MLB team including Nashville, Charlotte, Orlando, Salt Lake City, Austin, San Antonio and Portland. If they can get a team, they WILL build a new downtown park for them. All of these metros were once smaller than KC and now all but Nashville are larger. Nashville will blow past KC in the next decade though.

I love Kauffman stadium. I grew up near it. Have been to hundreds of games there. But it's not that nice anymore. I have been to every park and I would rank it about the middle of the pack. It's not terrible, but it's not great either. And the location is just absolutely terrible. The area around those stadiums has deteriorated so badly. I mean in the 80's and 90's there were at least a few decent hotels. Now nearly everything out there is boarded up, trash everywhere etc. Do people in KC even realize how crappy that area of KC has become?

The Royals need new life. They need a stadium for all kinds of reasons. Mostly the team needs more revenue streams. Again being in a small market. They need to develop a younger more urban fan base. The Royals barely draw anybody from that demographic like you see in most cities. If you live in the city and are in your 20's, there is zero interest it driving out to Kauffman. The Royals need to be near people, offices, hotels and residents. Especially for weekday games.

KC needs to wake up or they are going to lose the Royals and they will never get a MLB back if they do. The metro is too small now.