Field of Legends facts for kids
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| Former names | T-Bones Stadium (2018–2020) CommunityAmerica Ballpark (2002–2017) |
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| Address | 1800 Village West Pkwy |
| Location | Kansas City, Kansas |
| Coordinates | 39°7′28″N 94°49′51″W / 39.12444°N 94.83083°W |
| Owner | Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas |
| Capacity | Baseball: 6,537 Soccer: 10,385 |
| Field size | Left field: 300 feet (91 m) Left-center: 411 feet (125 m) Center field: 396 feet (121 m) Right-center: 409 feet (125 m) Right field: 328 feet (100 m) |
| Surface | Bermuda grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | September 4, 2002 |
| Opened | June 6, 2003 |
| Construction cost | $12 million USD ($19.1 million in 2022 dollars ) |
| Architect | Heinlein Schrock Stearns (now 360 Architecture) |
| Tenants | |
| Kansas City Monarchs (NL/AA) 2003–Present Kansas City NWSL (NWSL) 2021– Kansas City Wizards (MLS) 2008–2010 |
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Field of Legends is a cool baseball park located in Kansas City, Kansas. It's home to two exciting teams:
- The Kansas City Monarchs, a baseball team in the American Association of Professional Baseball.
- The Kansas City NWSL team, which plays in the National Women's Soccer League.
This stadium used to be the home of the Kansas City Wizards (now called Sporting Kansas City), a team from Major League Soccer. You can find the Field of Legends in the Village West area at 1800 Village West Parkway. Many local high school teams also play their annual Butch Foster Memorial Baseball Classic here. Besides sports, the stadium is sometimes used for concerts and other fun community events.
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About the Stadium
The ballpark was first named after CommunityAmerica Credit Union. This company had the naming rights from 2002 to 2017. The field has some interesting measurements:
- It's 300 feet (91 m) down the left field line.
- There's an 18-foot (5.5 m) tall wall in left field, which fans call "the Little Green Monster."
- It's 411 feet (125 m) to left-center field.
- The distance to dead center field is 396 feet (121 m).
- It's 409 feet (125 m) to right-center field.
- The right field line is 328 feet (100 m) long.
Most of the outfield walls are about 5 feet (1.5 m) high. The only exceptions are the "Little Green Monster" and the bullpen area. The bullpen walls are about 10 feet (3.0 m) high. These walls add some unique shapes to the outfield.
A wide 25-foot (7.6 m) walkway surrounds the entire playing and seating areas. In 2008, more seats were added to the park. Now, it has 6,537 fixed seats. However, if you count all the standing room, picnic areas, and party zones, the stadium can hold over 7,500 people!
Stadium History
Construction on the Field of Legends began on September 4, 2002. It was built very quickly, in just over nine months, by Titan Construction. The stadium officially opened on June 6, 2003.
The stadium has seen some big crowds. For baseball, the record attendance was 10,345 people on June 23, 2007. For soccer games, with the new seating, over 8,000 fans often attend. The record soccer attendance was 10,385 on March 29, 2008.
In 2006, the Northern League All-Star game was held at the ballpark on July 18. There were also fun events the day before the game.
Sporting Kansas City's Time at the Park
The soccer team Sporting Kansas City played their home games at this stadium from 2008 to 2010. This was while their new stadium was being built. Because soccer was played there, the baseball field had a special setup.
Usually, baseball fields have dirt paths between the bases. But at Field of Legends, there were only small dirt areas around the bases, home plate, and the pitcher's mound. This made it easier for the grounds crew to switch between baseball and soccer games. They didn't have to add or remove too much grass for each game.
On March 29, 2008, Sporting Kansas City played their first game at the ballpark. They won 2-0 against D.C. United in front of a sold-out crowd.
Seating Upgrades
Before the 2008 season, the grassy area in left field was replaced with permanent bleacher seats. More metal bleachers were also added along the walkway, stretching from behind the old left field grass to the bullpens in center field. These changes added 2,172 seats, bringing the total fixed seating capacity from 4,365 to 6,537.
Other Events and Renaming
On June 3, 2007, the ballpark hosted a world record event! 1,683 guitarists played the famous Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water" together. This was a fun event to promote a local radio station.
In November 2017, the team that played there, the T-Bones, announced that the stadium would no longer be called CommunityAmerica Ballpark. For a while, it was known as T-Bones Stadium. In July 2019, the T-Bones made a deal to rename the playing field "JustBats Field at T-Bones Stadium."
Later, in October 2019, the local government took over the stadium from the T-Bones. This happened because the team had not kept up with rent and utility payments. A few days later, the government made a new lease agreement with a group that wanted to buy the T-Bones team. The team was successfully purchased. The new lease is for five years, with options to extend it for three more five-year periods.
In December 2020, it was reported that the new Kansas City NWSL soccer team would play their home games at the stadium.
Finally, in January 2021, the stadium was officially renamed "Field of Legends." This new name came about when the T-Bones baseball team changed their name to the Monarchs.
Gallery
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Left field wall showing the Retired number of Buck O'Neil
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Scoreboard
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View from left field stands
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View from right sideline stands
| Events and Tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by U.S. Steel Yard |
Host of the NoL All-Star Game CommunityAmerica Ballpark 2006 |
Succeeded by Newman Outdoor Field |
| Preceded by Arrowhead Stadium |
Home of Sporting Kansas City 2008–2010 |
Succeeded by Children's Mercy Park |
Images for kids
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The Kansas City NWSL team's 2021 home opener, with the stadium set up for soccer
See also
In Spanish: CommunityAmerica Ballpark para niños
