Tom Waggoner
As Kansas City looks toward the future of professional sports, with new stadium plans dominating headlines and the Kansas City Chiefs unveiling renderings for their proposed stadium project, it's the perfect time to revisit this fascinating conversation.
In this encore release, we sit down with sports architect, author, and historian Tom Waggoner, whose book Designed in Kansas City chronicles how Kansas City became the Sports Architecture Capital of the World.
Tom takes us from the Colosseum to today's stadium debate, explaining how Kansas City Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium, the Kansas City Royals' Kauffman Stadium, and the Truman Sports Complex revolutionized stadium design in the 1970s and influenced sports venues around the world.
We also discuss the future of stadium architecture, what makes a venue truly great, and what Tom would tell today's Chiefs and Royals ownership as they help shape the next chapter of Kansas City sports.
Whether you're following the latest stadium proposals, passionate about sports history, or simply curious how Kansas City became a global leader in sports architecture, this episode provides the historical context behind one of the region's biggest conversations.
