Kauffman Stadium boasts a rich and unusual history

Just in time for the Kansas City Royals’ season opener Sunday night, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation shares reminders of its founder’s role in keeping baseball in Kansas City.

According to the foundation, Kauffman Stadium is the only American League stadium named after a person.

For decades, it had a unique position as the sole baseball-only stadium built in the majors between 1962 and 1991. The facility, designed by Kivett & Myers, opened for the 1973 season and hosted the 1973 All Star Game, partly because Kauffman added money to help catch up from a construction strike that had delayed the opening date. The stadium subsequently was renovated by HOK Sport.

The stadium now is the sixth-oldest stadium in Major League Baseball. Many baseball commentators continue to call it the most beautiful in baseball, often noting the fountains and waterfalls beyond the outfield fence. The water feature ranks as the largest privately funded fountain in the world, the foundation says.

“Kauffman never demanded taxpayer subsidies in return for keeping this tremendous economic asset in Kansas City,” the foundation report states. “Quite the contrary. He spent much of his personal fortune to improve the quality of his baseball team and give fans a spectacular stadium and championship caliber organization.”

Kauffman took the unusual step to bequeath the Royals team to charity, a complex succession plan that won a two-year review by the IRS before it was approved.

“Kauffman worried that, after his death, the Royals would not be able to stay competitive and remain in Kansas City,” the foundation report says. “He came up with the succession plan and donated nearly $100 million to keep the Royals afloat after his death.”

The Royals were donated to the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation with the requirement that the community foundation sell the team to someone who would keep it in Kansas City. The team was sold for $96 million in 2000 to Wal-Mart Stores executive David Glass with that understanding.

Kauffman’s final public appearance at the stadium was on May 23, 1993, when he was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame. The stadium was renamed in his honor at a stadium ceremony on July 2, 1993, and he died in August that year.

In 2007, the Royals announced extensive stadium renovations in time for the 2009 season. Changes included a high-definition scoreboard, new outfield terraces, wider concourses on all three levels and a concourse so fans can walk completely around the stadium.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Kauffman Stadium boasts a rich and unusual history."