My wife and I continued our quest (it’s a quest for fun!) to make it to all of the MLB ballparks with a trip to Kansas City during the latest Brewer road trip. It’s a stadium that we’ve wanted to get to for a long time, and one that I think looks really cool anytime I see a TV broadcast of a Royals game (which happens with the same frequency of a solar eclipse). So this wasn’t just a, ‘let’s cross it off of the list,’ trip, I was pretty excited to check it out.
A few things in no particular order before we get to more things in no particular order:
- Navigating the Kansas City Interstate/Highway system is like trying to get through Bowser’s Castle at 200cc’s on Mario Kart. It’s a DISASTER. Granted, Kansas City is an old city that was built around major rivers and railroad lines. So some weird turns and exits are to be expected. But holy moly. You get onto the interstate, before you know it you’re crossing 4 lanes of traffic in 600 feet, then getting onto an exit that instantly banks left before ending up at an uncontrolled intersection with 5 different lanes all converging. It wouldn’t shock me at all if Nicolas Cage spent two weeks driving in Kansas City rush hour to prepare for his role as Memphis Raines in Gone in 60 Seconds.
- Kansas City BBQ is ELITE BBQ. Of all of the places we went I think Joe’s was my favorite with Jack Stack as a close second. But the Kansas City flavor is more of a sweet, molasses flavor instead of a spicier BBQ style. They cook low and slow and the brisket and pulled pork just melts in your mouth like meat cotton candy. I’m pretty sure I’m still sweating out pork fat 24 hours later.
On to Kaufmann:
- We loved the location. It’s not really in the city, so it has plenty of parking just like Am Fam Field. The Chiefs stadium, Arrowhead, is right next door. What’s kind of bizarre is that there is ZERO tailgate culture in KC. We parked our car and saw some people just milling around their vehicles with a beverage, but not a single grill was fired up. I almost felt like I needed to start preaching the gospel of Smokey Joe to these folks. Like introducing a caveman to fire (literally).
- Kaufmann doesn’t open until 1 hour before first pitch, which I also found unusual. I think Am Fam opens at least 2 hours prior, if not more. I can’t understand why you wouldn’t want people getting into the game earlier and spending more money on merch, food, and $16 beers.
- The stadium itself kind of reminds me of a bigger, better version of a spring training stadium. It just has a chill vibe, WIDE open concourse and outfield area where you can hang out by the signature water fountains, buy concessions, harass outfielders, etc.
- I’m a big fan of stadiums that have unique features and Kaufmann has plenty. The aforementioned waterfall fountains are cool, the scoreboard in the shape of a crown was awesome, and their Hall of Fame being on site was neat as well. It’s out in right field, and it takes maybe 15-20 minutes to walk through. As you might expect, it’s a LOT of George Brett, but it also gets into Bret Saberhagen, Bo Jackson, and the run in 2014 and 2015 with Ned Yost. My wife, Lindsey, very aptly pointed out the similarites between the Brewers and Royals. Both small market, Midwest teams. Both have similar colors, both end up having to trade a lot of their home grown talent when they can’t afford them anymore, etc. The Hall of Fame tour does end with both of their World Series trophies which is a reminder of what the Brewers haven’t been able to accomplish yet, but I thought the whole thing was really well done, and not overdone, if that makes sense.
- Concessions are pretty solid. Again, as you might expect, BBQ is a signature. We had the go-to item, the Brisketachos, nachos in a helmet with brisket meat and other BBQ toppings. I’d give it a 7/10. Probably would have been higher had we not eaten top-level BBQ for two days prior to our first game at Kaufmann on Monday. Andy’s Frozen Custard is the go-to dessert, it’s fair, hard for frozen custard to not be good. We did happen to run into dollar hot dog night on Tuesday so we capitalized on that (it sounds like they do that EVERY Tuesday home game). Boulevard Brewing is sort of their Leinie’s, I had a few different beers and they both tasted like beer.
- The Royals did take 2 out of 3 from the Brewers which I thought was kind of rude. Feels like the Royals would be better hosts if they let the visiting team win the series. Just a thought if anyone that works at Kaufmann is reading this post.
Overall I had a fantastic time, and the stadium really shined on Tuesday night when the weather was perfect (75 and sunny). We’ve been to 14 parks now, I would put this at #3 on my ‘favorites’ list. #1 is still PNC in Pittsburgh, #2 is Camden in Baltimore, I’d slot Kaufmann into #3, Fenway #4, and Busch in St. Louis at #5.
Now if this is a place you want to check out, I’d do it soon. It sounds like there’s a real movement to build a new stadium downtown and demolish Kaufmann. Even though literally every single Royals fan we ran into does NOT want that to happen, they also felt like it was inevitable at some point soon.
Finall rating 8.2 Strange Brews out of a possible 10 Strange Brews.
PS: If you do go to Kansas City, a few other things to check out while you’re there:
- Union Station, where you can learn all about how the railroad industry build the city, then subsequently died, then came back to life.
- The Negro Leagues Museum which has a fantastic movie narrated by the voice of God/Darth Vader: James Earl Jones.
- Independence, Missouri is a 15 minute drive from Kansas City and has become a city whose entire economy revolves around its most famous former resident: Harry S. Truman. It also has a trail marker at the Truman Courthouse which desinates the start of the Oregon Trail. You can smell the dysentery in the air.
- Up Down is a pretty cool arcade bar in downtown Kansas City is you feel like getting your ass kicked in Street Fighter and enjoying a beverage or two.
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