Thousands of Royals fans, and one smart ball, are ready for opening day in KC

When the first pitch crosses home plate Sunday at the Royals’ season opener, the ball will have traveled more than 9 miles through the city, and it will be filled with the words and thoughts of thousands of fans.

Before that happens, Kansas Citians can add their message to the ball’s digital time capsule and make plans to witness the spectacle of Relay the Way, which begins at 9 a.m. Sunday at Union Station.

The 2,500 people needed to toss the ball 20 feet at a time from Union Station to Kauffman Stadium have already signed up. The 9.49-mile relay will wind its way north up Grand Boulevard, east on 18th Street to Brooklyn Avenue, south to Linwood Boulevard and then along Stadium Drive toward the stadium service tunnel.

Police will block off streets along the route, and crowds are expected.

The relay is organized to raise money and awareness for the Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy.

To add a tweet-size digital message to the ball, fans can visit the Relay the Way website and donate $1 or more.

Those messages will be uploaded into a computer embedded in the ball’s core, provided by VML, a Kansas City-based agency known for digital marketing, and read by fans visiting the ball on display at the Royals Hall of Fame years into the future.

For more information about Relay the Way, go to relaytheway.com.

This story was originally published April 2, 2016 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Thousands of Royals fans, and one smart ball, are ready for opening day in KC."