Getting to Kauffman Stadium

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Kauffman Stadium is a drive-to ballpark. It sits where I-70 meets Blue Ridge Cutoff in the Truman Sports Complex, an 8-mile run east of downtown Kansas City, with its own toll-gate ring and surface lots in every direction. There is no train, and one bus route serves the area. Most fans drive or take a rideshare, and the complex is built around that.

Before game day, buy parking in advance on the MLB Ballpark app. A general pass is $21 ahead of time and $30 at the gate.

Rideshare

Rideshare is the simplest way in if you would rather not deal with the lots, and the complex runs designated flows that change direction after the game:

• Pre-game, coming from the east: your driver enters at Toll Gate 3 and drops you in front of Blue KC Gate D on the first-base side, then exits west through Gate 7.
• Pre-game, from the west: enter at Toll Gate 5, drop at Price Chopper Gate B on the third-base side, exit at Gate 7.
• Post-game: pickups stage on the designated Traffic Row in the middle of Lot A; your driver enters through Gate 1.

From downtown hotels, the ride takes about 15 minutes without traffic. After the final out, expect surge pricing and a wait at the Lot A row, especially after fireworks nights.

Driving and parking

Most fans drive, and the system is more organized than the first-time approach suggests:

• 2026 prices: bought in advance, $21 general, $36 reserved, $41 oversized (anything taking more than one space). At the gate: $30, $45, and $50.
• Buy the pass before you leave. The MLB Ballpark app price beats the gate price every time, and the pass is digital, so have it up and ready to scan through the window at the toll booth. Tollbooths at Gates 2 through 6 take credit cards if you show up without one.
• Price-shopping is not worth the effort here. The complex lots are the official lots at the rates above, and the off-complex spots that turn up in parking apps are a long walk from the gates.
• Staff direct you to the lot closest to your entry gate, so which toll gate you enter shapes where you park. Generally, coming off I-70 eastbound the western toll gates put you on the third-base side, and from the east you land first-base side.
• Rainouts: parking is refundable under the announced policy for that event.
• The lots close one hour after the game, which is the ceiling on any post-game hangout at the car.

Getting out is the hard part at the complex, because everyone leaves by car at the same time. Your options are to beat the rush by an inning, or embrace the one-hour window and let the lot clear while you pack up.

The bus

One RideKC route serves the stadium area: Route 47, Martin Luther King Jr., a daily bi-state route on RideKC (the Kansas City metro’s transit system) that runs from KU Medical Center through Westport, the Country Club Plaza, and along MLK Boulevard out to the stadium area, stopping on Blue Ridge Cutoff at 38th Terrace. From the stop it is a walk across the complex to the gates.

The practical facts:

• Buses come about every 45 minutes on weekdays and once an hour on weekends. The last bus away from the stadium leaves before midnight on weekdays and Saturdays and much earlier on Sundays, so before a night game, look up the last trip on the Route 47 schedule.
• The fare is $2 a ride. RideKC brought fares back on June 1, 2026, after several fare-free years.
• Pay by tapping a contactless card at the reader or through the RideKC GO app, RideKC’s fare and trip-planning app. No cash on board. Fares cap at $4 a day when you pay with the same card or phone each time, so after two $2 rides, the rest of that day’s rides are free.

The bus works best for solo travelers on a budget staying near the Plaza or Westport, with time to spare. For a family of four it is $16 round trip against a $21 parking pass, which is not enough of a gap to be worth riding the schedule. The KC Streetcar does not reach the stadium. It runs on Main Street downtown and does not go near the complex.

Getting here from the airport

Plan on a rental car from Kansas City International Airport (MCI) to Kauffman Stadium. The stadium has no train service, and the bus trip from the airport takes at least two transfers. To get to the rental cars, ride the free Gray Bus to the Consolidated Rental Car Facility. The Gray Bus runs 24 hours a day, and its stops are on the commercial curb outside the terminal, under overhead signs.

You can find more about parking prices, the advance pass, and the toll gates in our Driving and parking section above.

Rideshare and taxi. For Uber or Lyft, follow the signs down to the Arrivals commercial curb and look for the purple signposts 2K-N. The rideshare curb has a limited number of spots, so wait until you see your driver pull into one. At MCI, you call for a taxi from your own phone. The number is 816-243-2345, and the dispatcher will need your exact location. For the trip back after the game, cabs and rideshares pick up in the middle of Lot A.

The bus, for arriving only. RideKC’s Route 229 runs about once an hour from the airport to downtown, and the ride takes about an hour. Each ride is as low as $2, and fares cap at $4 a day. Reaching the stadium from downtown takes at least two more buses, ending on Route 47, the one route that serves the stadium area. For the trip back to the airport, plan on a rideshare or a cab. The last trips toward the airport are on the Route 229 schedule.

If you would rather not drive, use a rideshare or a cab to get to the stadium and back to MCI.

Luggage

The Royals’ ballpark guide says that security staff will ask you to return a prohibited item to your vehicle or throw it away, and that “Prohibited items will not be stored at the gates or guest services.”

The Royals let you carry in a clear bag up to 12 by 12 by 6 inches, a one-gallon clear zip-seal bag, and a small clutch up to 9 by 5 inches along with one of the clear options. A suitcase is not on that list.

Kansas City International Airport does not offer lockers either, so take your bags to your hotel before the game.

Gates A through E

Here are the gates, counterclockwise: Gate A in left field by the Hall of Fame side, Price Chopper Gate B on the third-base side, CommunityAmerica Gate C behind home plate, Blue KC Gate D on the first-base side, and Gate E in right field.

Two groups should use a specific gate:

• Traveling with kids? Gates A and E open 90 minutes before first pitch for the Outfield Experience, and they put you straight into the kids’ area and the Hall of Fame.
• Crown Club ticket? Your gate is C, and it opens 2 hours before first pitch for sections 1 to 6.

Standard gate times otherwise: an hour before first pitch Monday through Thursday, 90 minutes on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and giveaway days. And remember that there’s no re-entry, which shapes your whole arrival plan.

Know Kauffman Stadium better than we do? Tell us what we got wrong, or where we should be sending people instead.

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