By MATT PIKE
The Kansas City Royals are making a change, announcing today a shift to the outfield walls, and Kauffman Stadium will look slightly different when Opening Day of the 2026 season hits.
The left and right field walls will be moved in nine to 10 feet, starting close to the foul poles and then tapering toward center field, where 410 feet will remain the distance from home plate. The wall height is going from 10 feet to 8 1/2 feet in most places. There will be more seats available, about 150 in left field and about 80 new drink-rail seats in right.
According to a team-provided diagram, the left- and right-field corners are being pulled in nine feet, from 356 and 353 feet, respectively, to 347 and 344 feet. The previous distances of 373 in both left and right fields will be nine feet closer, at 364 feet. Left-center and right-center fields will be moved in 10 feet, from 389 feet to 379 feet.
“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 from the team. “We wanted more consistency throughout the season, while making sure the specifics put us in the best position to succeed.”
According to the Royals, these changes will likely create more home runs, along with robbed home runs, more extra-base hits, and more exciting action on the field, also bringing fans closer to seeing it. The decision was made by Baseball Operations for competitive reasons, including to bring "The K" more in line with other Major League ballparks.
Per research from the club, the changes will take the run value of fly balls at Kauffman move from the bottom third of MLB ballparks to the middle, primarily through more extra-base hits. Over the last three seasons, these specific changes would have benefitted the Royals overall, even accounting for more extra-base hits by opponents.
“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 of Research & Development/Assistant GM Dr. Daniel Mack said. “Our approach was carefully considered to account for as many factors as possible. We believe this will ultimately reduce the constraints within Kauffman Stadium.”
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