The new K is OK

I got my first look at the Kauffman Stadium renovations Wednesday when I went to watch the Royals play the Mariners. Here's the changes I noticed:

1. The new facade: There's a big, round, glass facade around a good portion of the stadium with a bunch of team offices inside. It looks kind of like a small section of the Sprint Center taken and tacked onto Kauffman. It's a cool architectural feature. Makes the stadium look more modern.

2. Food: There's all kinds of new concession stands, with all kinds of new food. Burnt end and brisket BBQ sandwiches, ribs, loaded nachos, etc. etc. Of course it's all still really expensive. The new menu isn't going to make much of a difference for me. I rarely eat at ballgames or movie theaters cause I just don't like feeling ripped off. I did try the brisket sandwich Wednesday for the sake of the blog (that's what I told myself, truth is I was just hungry) The meat was lean and tender, but the BBQ sauce was pretty bland. It cost $6.50, which I guess isn't that much more than you'd pay at Gates or Jack Stack.

3. More handicapped seating: There's new big patios in the upper deck with more spaces for people in wheelchairs. Having spent a year in a wheelchair myself, this improvement is near and dear to my heart. Kudos.

4. Outfield patios: Without losing the stadium's trademark fountains, the Royals managed to put in a bunch of new decks and porches in the outfield. Some are for private parties, some are general admission. It's added some depth and some uniqueness to the outfield, giving Kauffman more of a distinct look.

5. Jumbotron: I saw this last year, but it's still striking. Really big, really clear, really impressive. They sometimes clutter it up with too many statistics and you have to wonder what the carbon footprint is on something like that. But it's great for replays and there's no denying it's supercool.

6. Bathrooms: They've replaced the urine troughs with individual, partitioned urinals in the men's room, which gives at least a little privacy (Ladies, you've never known the joy of peeing in a trough next to 30 other people. I know you're jealous). The facilities are better, but the floor was still disgustingly wet. I like to tell myself that it's just condensation from the porcelain urinals dripping onto the floor, but that seems unlikely. When you've got a high-pressure stream of urine hitting a hard surface there's going to be a splash factor -- it's just physics. My friend Tim likes to tell a story about when he was at a Twins' playoff game at the Metrodome and the bathroom floor was so wet and slick that little kids were literally running from one end to the other and sliding on their shoes. Gross, I know. It woud be nice if some bathroom renovators would figure out a better drainage system. I didn't get a look at the new women's restrooms, for obvious reasons (the beard probably would have given me away).

All in all, I'd grade the new Kauffman renovations a "B." It's not a huge change, but they managed to spruce things up and still keep most of the place's original flavor. Not sure it was worth the $250 million price tag, but it seems like you have to pay that much just to get the shovels dirty these days.