Well, I try not to go hyperbole too often here, except for effect, so I hope you guys know I mean it when I say that this stadium is flipping awesome.
I'm up here in the press box as I type this, looking out on a filling stadium, the standing-room only porch in right field is full, people are all over the outfield walking around, the fountains are pumping, heck the weather even cleared up.
It's weird how much difference the new crown on top of the ridiculously big HD scoreboard makes, and there aren't many things more beautiful than a full stadium.
The renovations aren't perfect, but what they've done is, at least on first impression, turned a charming-but-outdated Kauffman Stadium into, no exaggeration here, one of the very best stadiums in baseball -- maybe the best.
We've been pumping out a ton of stories lately about all aspects of the stadium -- and we'll have a big one in Sunday's paper about the architecture firm that designed it -- so I'll try not to overkill here, other than to say that even if you're not a baseball fan, you really should pick a nice night this summer and come out here.
Very cool.
Very good spot for beer drinking, though a little overcrowded. Sam is not exaggerating when it comes to the new stadium either. This place is is awesome. We went from having a beautiful view of the field and outfield, to having a modernized ballparked with all the amenities that looks great. I wouldn't be surprised if the Royals pulled an average attendance around 5,000 higher than last year. There is so much to do there and cheap tickets can be had (The $7 Dri-Duck seats aren't bad, plus you get a free hat every game, $5 upper deck Mondays, $10 standing room, etc.).
The game was a disappointment though. The Royals only managed 2 legitimate hits. 2 of them should have been called errors.