Kansas City Royals to move outfield fences in at Kauffman Stadium for ’26 season

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Royals fans might see more offense — and home runs — at home games this season.

The club announced Tuesday plans to move the outfield fences in at Kauffman Stadium starting with the 2026 season.

“We’ve discussed this possibility for years, and after much work by our Research & Development department, believe this will be a positive change for our baseball team,” Royals executive vice president and general manager J.J. Picollo said in a news release Tuesday. “We wanted more consistency throughout the season, while making sure the specifics put us in the best position to succeed.”

In addition to bringing in the fences, the height of the outfield wall will be reduced from 10 feet to 8 1/2 feet.

The club says the changes will bring more offensive action and potentially defensive highlights with at-the-wall catches.

Work on the new dimensions is already underway and is expected to be complete by the time the Royals host their home opener on March 30 against the Minnesota Twins.

The changes will allow the club to add 150 seats in left field and 80 “drinkrail” seats in right field.

“Making this a fairer ballpark will help with roster construction, but more importantly, will allow our players to keep the same approach regardless of where we play,” Royals Vice President-Research & Development/Assistant GM Dr. Daniel Mack said Tuesday. “Our approach was carefully considered to account for as many factors as possible. We believe this will ultimately reduce the constraints within Kauffman Stadium.”

The club is set to discuss the changes in a news conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

—