Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

About

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is in the 18th and Vine Jazz District of Kansas City, Missouri, the neighborhood where the Negro National League was founded in 1920. It tells the story of African American baseball from the 1800s through the integration of the major leagues, set against a timeline of American history.

The museum is a self-guided walk through text panels, hundreds of photographs, artifacts, oral histories and several films. The main film, They Were All Stars, is narrated by James Earl Jones and shown only here. The centerpiece is the Field of Legends, a mock baseball diamond with life-size bronze statues of Negro Leagues greats. The museum recommends at least an hour, and baseball fans can easily spend more. The American Jazz Museum shares the building but needs its own ticket.

In 2026 admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors 65 and over and for children 5 to 12, and free for children 4 and under and active military. Veterans pay $10. Buy tickets online, up to eight per order, or in the Extra Innings Gift Shop; they stay valid for 30 days. The museum posts its hours on its Contact and Hours pages, and it closes on some holidays and occasionally for maintenance. Photos without flash are allowed, but food and drink are not.

Free parking lines 18th Street and "Buck" O'Neil Way, and public lots sit near the Gregg Community Center, at 18th and Woodland, and at 18th and Vine. During the current 18th Street pedestrian mall construction, the museum suggests the lot at the southwest corner of 18th and Paseo or the free parking behind the building. The jazz clubs and barbecue of 18th and Vine are right outside, and downtown Kansas City is a short drive west.

Accessibility

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is set up for wheelchair users, though it publishes only basic accessibility details. Guests may bring their own mobility devices into the museum, and the museum has a wheelchair to lend, free, from the Security Desk when you arrive. Guests are responsible for any damage their mobility devices cause.

Parking is free on the streets and in public lots around 18th and Vine, but the museum does not describe accessible spaces. While the 18th Street pedestrian mall is under construction, visitors are directed to walk south on Vine from 17th Terrace and use either the rear entrance or the front entrance on 18th Street. Call ahead about the smoothest route from your parking spot, and note that street closures for district events can affect access.

For visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing, the main exhibit film has closed captioning.

Service dogs are welcome. The museum asks you to contact it before your visit so it can prepare. Security staff are on site at all times, and you can leave luggage at the main security desk.

The museum does not publish details on restrooms, elevators or programs for visitors who are blind. Call (816) 221-1920 with specific questions before you go.

Checked by Accessible America, September 2026. Report a change

More accessible places in Missouri

• National WWI Museum and Memorial (Kansas City)
• Union Station Kansas City (Kansas City)
• Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City)
• Worlds of Fun (Kansas City)
• Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium (Kansas City)
• Gateway Arch National Park (St. Louis)

Photo credits

• The brick entrance of the Museums at 18th and Vine, home of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.: Richard from kansas city, united states, CC BY 2.0 (source)
• The 18th and Vine District sign above a red brick building in Kansas City.: Smuckola, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)