Former Royals player reminisces on Kauffman Stadium, ready for downtown ballpark

KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers Kansas City, Missouri. Share your story idea with Alyssa.

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Downtown baseball won’t just be a new concept for fans to wrap their minds around. Current and former Royals players will have to get used to the idea of not playing at Kauffman Stadium.

The Kansas City Royals have been discussing a new home since 2021.

Kauffman Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex is one of the oldest MLB stadiums, home to the Royals since 1973.

Former Royals center fielder Brian McRae took the streetcar downtown to share some of his favorite memories at The K with KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson.

“I got to watch my dad play there,” he said. “That’s where I got my first MLB hit. My first game was at the stadium.”

McRae — the son of Hal McRae, a former MLB All-Star and former Royals manager — played five seasons for the club.

“As a kid, just being able to run around the field as a ball boy, a bat boy. Sometimes in the summer, I’d work at the stadium,” McRae said. “As a player, I’d joke with the guys that some nights, late nights, we’d spend the night in the clubhouse and swim in the fountains.”

Jackson asked McRae why he thinks downtown baseball could work.

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“I’ve seen it work in other cities. I’ve been able to travel to other cities and see what they’ve done with downtown stadiums and see how this city has grown around the stadiums,” McRae said. “I’ve lived downtown for 15 plus years, so I’m a little biased and spoiled with how to get around. Taking the streetcar to a game is very appealing.”

He added that if other franchises like the Yankees can move stadiums, the Royals can, too.

By 2031, it could be out with the old and in with a new downtown tradition.

“There’s another generation of Royals fans or couple generations of Royals fans for the next 50 years or so — we won’t have to talk about a new stadium again,” McRae said.

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