One park is hosting the World Series for the very first time, and the other is doing so for the second year in a row.
And both are showplaces, as each are top-ten parks in my one-to-thirty ranking of MLB stadiums. Citi Field is #7 and the rebuilt Kauffman Stadium is #4.
Every year since 2003, we’ve provided a “tale of the tape” of the two parks in that year’s Fall Classic, so this year is no exception.
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Inside |  |
Kauffman Stadium |
Citi Field |
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| 1973, although in 2009 it received a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar renovation | Year opened | Opened next door to Shea in 2009 |
| In the Harry S Truman Sports Complex, which also includes Arrowhead Stadium | Site | Just like its predecessor, the noise from the jets lets you know it’s near LaGuardia |
| 37,903. The Royals shattered their old single-season attendance record in 2015, and was up 38% over 2014 | Seating capacity | 41,922. The Mets had the best attendance gain vs. 2014 in the NL. It was the best yr since 2009 |
| Natural grass (bluegrass and rye) | Playing surface | Natural grass (bluegrass) |
| Immense CF video scoreboard (when it opened in 2008, it was the largest in the world), fantastic team museum | Special features | The exterior copies the look of Ebbets Field. Entry rotunda is grandest in the sport |
| Kivett and Myers (architects from this firm started HOK Sport, now Populous) | Designed by | Populous |
| $70 million | Cost to build | $900 million |
| 330′-387′-410′-387′-330′ | Outfield dimensions | 335′-358′-408′-375”-330′ |
| This is the fourth — 1980, 1985, 2014 and this year | World Series hosted | This is the ballpark’s first. |
| The only World Series won by the Royals was in 1985. They came up two runs short of winning the 2014 Series | Last World Series won by home team | 1986 in the Fall Classic sadly remembered for Buckner’s error |
| 1973 and 2012, both games won by the NL | All Star Games hosted | 2013, which had the biggest crowd in the park’s history. The AL shut out the NL. |
| The fountains, baseball’s best feature because KC is the City of Fountains | Landmark | Other than the rotunda, a giant apple appears in CF when a Met homers |
| A great park for doubles and triples, but definitely not for HRs (20.7% fewer were hit than MLB average). Runs scored were 1.9% more than average. | Park factors (2015) Source: ESPN.com |
It’s a pitchers’ park, because the third-fewest runs in the Majors were scored here, although the number of HRs were almost exactly average |
| Wonderful, respectful fans and the best ushering/security staff in the sport | Filled with | These are fans who don’t take a back seat to the cross-town Yankees, and their ballpark doesn’t either |
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Outside |  |