( New ) Busch Stadium - St. Louis, Missouri

Current Home of the St. Louis Cardinals
Last World Championship - 2011 (4-3 vs. Texas Rangers)
Last Playoff Appearance - 2011 (NL Wild Card - Won World Series)

Opened - 2006

August 6, 2006 - St. Louis Cardinals 7, Milwaukee Brewers 1

Boxscore:

The St. Louis Cardinals opened their new stadium in 2006. The new Busch Stadium was built right next door to the old Busch Stadium. In fact, construction on the new park couldn't be completed until the old park was demolished. Rightfiled in old Busch is now part of leftfield in the new park. As of now the only external reminder of the old stadium is the outfield wall painted on the sidewalk 402 feet away from homeplate of the old park. I'm sure in time when everything is cleaned up they will place more markers. The Stan Musial statue was moved across the street to the new park. Other reminders are the 3 hand operated scoreboards from the old park. These hang in different areas of the concourse. There are the National League & American League out-of-town boards as well as the main scoreboard that kept the line score.

The concourse on the field level is very wide, but not open to the playing field, which I found odd in this day and age. So people waiting on line at the Gashouse Grill or Dizzy's Diner cannot see the game. Once you come up the runway to the seating bowl you are treated with one of the nicest backdrops in baseball. From homeplate one can see the Old Courthouse and ofcourse the Gateway Arch. It makes one wonder why they would build the old Busch like they did. What's the point of putting it in the heart of the city if you don't take advantage of the surroundings ?

A few things I didn't like about the park, I felt it was too corporate. It seemed everything was sponsored, from the giant Bud Light ad in the upperdeck to the Ford Plaza in centerfield. Also, the Cardinals have one of the richest histories in the National League, but for some reason they don't really have anything to commemorate this. This is a franchise that has at least 7 to 10 players in the Hall of Fame, but other then the retired numbers, which they display in 2 places for some reason, you would never know that. You could go across the street to the Cardinals Hall of Fame which is located in the Bowling Hall of Fame. There ( for an extra $7.50 ) you will find everything you need to know about the Cardinals and their history, as if the prices weren't high enough. Our outfield field box seats ( which are basicly bleachers with backs ) were $38.00. Parking was OK, garages closest to the stadium are the most expensive at $15.00. New Busch Stadium is a big step up from the old park, but I just wasn't in love with it.

Stadium Rating - B-

To see Busch from high atop the Gateway Arch click here:

Back to my front page: