Kauffman Stadium

The ballpark opened with a 12-1 Royals win over the Texas Rangers before 39,464 fans. Kivett and Myers designed the original facility, and Populous has handled later renovation work. Seating capacity has changed six times: 40,625 from 1973 to 2002, 40,793 from 2003 to 2004, 40,785 from 2005 to 2009, 37,840 from 2010 to 2011 immediately after the 2007-2009 renovation, 37,903 from 2012 to 2025, and 38,053 as of the 2026 season; a separate source gives the original 1973 capacity as 40,793 rather than 40,625, and this research did not resolve the disagreement. A 1990 change installed a Sony JumboTron video board in left-center field; in 1995 Astroturf was replaced with natural grass; a 1998 renovation added Crown Seats, Dugout Suites, new clubhouses and a restaurant, and replaced the orange-and-gold seats with blue ones; and the 2007-2009 renovation, costing $256 million, added new bullpens, expanded club areas, an LED scoreboard and a 360-degree outfield concourse. For the 2026 season the outfield fences were moved inward nine to ten feet and the wall height was reduced, intended to encourage home runs. The ballpark's signature feature is a 322-foot fountain and waterfall display behind the right-field fence, described by its source as the largest privately funded fountain in the world; the fountains run before and after games and between innings, and the waterfalls run continuously during play. Kauffman Stadium hosted MLB All-Star Games in 1973 and 2012, the National League winning 8-0 in 2012, and World Series games in 1980, when the Royals lost to the Philadelphia Phillies; 1985, when they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals for the franchise's first title; 2014, when they lost to the San Francisco Giants; and 2015, when they defeated the New York Mets.