Royals will play Class AAA affiliate to end spring schedule in 2018

If the schedule-makers are kind to the Royals, they’ll have a short trip home to start the 2018 season.

The Royals announced on Thursday that they will play a game at the home of their Class AAA affiliate, the Omaha Storm Chasers, to end their spring exhibition schedule. The game between the Royals and Storm Chasers will be held March 26, 2018, which is a Monday, in Papillion, Neb.

If the Royals open the season at Kauffman Stadium, that will be an easy trip down I-29 for the players and staff.

This season, the Royals left their spring-training home in Surprise, Ariz., and played a pair of games against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, before the start of the season in Minnesota. Last year, the Royals played two games against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix before heading home.

“Since the franchise’s inception in 1969, the Royals and Omaha have had a long and storied relationship,” Kevin Uhlich, Royals’ senior vice president of business operations, said in a release. “With our organizations celebrating their 50th seasons together we thought it was a perfect time to play the game.”

This story was originally published August 10, 2017 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Royals will play Class AAA affiliate to end spring schedule in 2018."