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Kansas City RoyalsKauffman Stadium History Adding age to its beauty, the Kansas City Royals will begin their 33rd season in Kauffman Stadium in 2005. • Take a 360° IPIX photo tour of Kauffman Stadium Opened as Royals Stadium on April 10, 1973, it is recognized throughout baseball as one of the game's most beautiful ballparks. Since then, many exciting games have been contested, including the 1973 All-Star Game, three no-hitters, playoff games in 1976, '77, '78, '80, '81, '84 and '85 and seven World Series tilts in 1980 and 1985. The facility was officially re-named in honor of Ewing M. Kauffman in a ceremony at the stadium on July 2, 1993. Since its opening, a total of 53,062,406 people have visited the stadium, including a record 2,477,700 in 1989. Kauffman Stadium's unique features include a 12-story high scoreboard and a 322-foot wide water spectacular. The scoreboard contains 16,320 light bulbs, most of them on the 40 by 60 foot screen. The water spectacular is the largest privately funded fountain in the world. Added in 1990 was a state-of-the-art Sony JumboTron color video display board installed on the left field hillside. Measuring 30 by 40 feet, it's one of the largest video boards in the U.S. The top of the board features the Royals logo. In keeping with the architecture of the stadium, the existing water spectacular featuring cascading water now extends to the left field corner. A grass playing field replaced the artificial surface at Kauffman Stadium prior to the 1995 season. The fences were also moved in 10 feet from bullpen to bullpen at that time and lowered from 12 feet to 9 feet. Prior to the 1999 campaign, additional field level seating, known as "Crown Seats" and four dugout suites were added to enhance the stadium. Prior to the 2000 season the Picnic Pavilion was added near the base of the JumboTron in leftfield for groups attending the games. The re-naming of the stadium was appropriate in that it was the strength and integrity of Ewing M. Kauffman's ownership that provided the cornerstone for the Royals success. Kauffman purchased the club as an expansion franchise in 1968 with the primary and continuous motivation of providing winning Major League Baseball for Kansas Citians. Kauffman, who founded Marion Laboratories in his mother's basement and built it into a diversified health care company with sales reaching nearly one billion dollars, possessed a sense of daring and an innate ability to motivate those around him. The club's even-handed philosophy bears the Kauffman stamp. Mr. K also gave much personal attention to the Kansas City community, an important philosophy that was inbred into the Royals organization and still remains today. Among the awards Mr. Kauffman won for his leadership include the Kansas City Press Club's 1973 Man-of-the-Year, the "Mr. Baseball" honoree at the Kansas City Baseball Awards Dinner in 1976 and 1991 and induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. He also received the Horatio Alger Award, the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement, the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce "Kansas Citian of the Year" Award and the Distinguished Service Award from the American Legion. Mr. K passed away on Aug. 1, 1993. Kauffman Stadium Facts Kauffman Stadium Milestones April 10, 1973 - Royals Stadium is inaugurated with 39,464 fans for a 12-1 win over Texas May 15, 1973 - California Angels ace Nolan Ryan records the first no-hitter at Royals Stadium. He struck out 12 for a 3-0 win, his first career no-hitter. July 24, 1973 - Kansas City hosts the 40th anniversary All-Star Game. Cincinnati's Johnny Bench blasts a mammoth homer to spark a 7-1 National League win. Hall of Famer Willie Mays makes his last All-Star appearance and Royals John Mayberry and Amos Otis combine for 3 of the 5 A.L. hits. October 3, 1976 - George Brett, Hal McRae and Minnesota's Rod Carew entered the final game of the season separated by .001 in the batting race. Brett (.333) went 3-for-4 to edge teammate McRae (.332) by .001 in a battle of one of the closest batting title races in baseball history. October 9, 1976 - First post-season game played at Royals Stadium in Game 1 of the 1976 American League Championship Series. New York takes a 4-1 win in the opener. October 10, 1976 - Kansas City wins its first post-season game with a 7-3 victory against the Yankees. May 14, 1977 - Jim Colborn hurls the first no-hitter by a Royals pitcher at Royals Stadium, blanking Texas, 6-0. September 15, 1977 - The Royals take a 10-inning, 5-4 win in the 2nd game of a doubleheader vs. Oakland to set club record of 16 straight wins. October 1, 1978 - The Royals finish at 92-70 and draw a season attendance total of 2,255,294, the first time Kansas City has drawn over two million fans. July 26, 1980 - The largest single-game attendance record at Royals Stadium is established as 41,860 fans watch Kansas City face New York. August 17, 1980 - George Brett reaches the .400 mark with a 4-for-4 outburst against Toronto, capped by a standing ovation at second base after a double. October 17, 1980 - Kansas City hosts its first World Series game and registers a 4-3, 10-inning win vs. the Philadelphia Phillies. October 27, 1985 - The Royals captures its first World Series Championship with an 11-0 win at Royals Stadium in Game 7 over St. Louis. June 7, 1986 - Amos Otis and Steve Busby are the inaugural inductees into the newly formed Royals Hall of Fame with a pre-game ceremony. September 14, 1986 - Bo Jackson launches the longest home run in Royals Stadium history, a 475-foot shot off Seattle's Mike Moore. It was Jackson's first career home run. July 3, 1987 - "Dick Howser Day" is held at Royals Stadium for the late manager. Howser's number 10 is retired and he is inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame. September 24, 1989 - The Royals set their all-time season attendance mark at 2,477,700. August 26, 1991 - Bret Saberhagen fires a no-hitter to beat the White Sox 7-0 at Royals Stadium. May 23, 1993 - Owner Ewing Kauffman inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame. July 2, 1993 - Royals Stadium is renamed to Kauffman Stadium. September 29, 1993 - George Brett plays final game at Kauffman Stadium and concludes his career by kissing home plate after the game. April 7, 1995 - New grass field replaces the artificial turf surface. September 16, 1996 - Minnesota's Paul Molitor lashes a triple to join the 3,000 hit club. June 16, 1997 - The first interleague game is played at Kauffman Stadium, as Kansas City topples Houston, 5-2. April 7, 1999 - The debut of the Royals offseason renovations, with the new Crown Club, Dugout Suites and lower level seat replacement project. August 7, 1999 - The Royals hold an on-field ceremony to honor George Brett's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. April 7, 2000 - The Royal Pavilion and completed seat replacement makes a debut at Kauffman Stadium. June 10, 2000 - Kansas City welcomes David Glass with a pre-game ceremony to commemorate the new ownership of the Kansas City Royals. April 25, 2000 - Kansas City goes over the 50 million mark in attendance. June 8, 2004 - Kansas City goes over the 60 million mark in attendance. |