matthewweaver.com | mlb ballparks

Ballpark:
The new Busch Stadium, named for the Saint Louis beer giant Anheuser Busch and its 1960s predecessor of the same name, is a wonderful ballpark. It combines many of the best features of the new MLB parks and opens up toward the city and the Gateway Arch...something that the old cookie cutter stadium never did.

There are few bad seats, except for the first row of the upper deck where you have to look through the railing (the same as with Oriole Park). Most seats have a view of the Arch and, for now, the Old Courthouse. This view will disappear by 2011 with the completion of Ballpark Village, a mixed retail and housing project being built on a portion of the old Busch Stadium site just past the left field area of the new stadium. The concourses were wide and the seats provided plenty of legroom; however, the standing room only sections were in very unusual places and seemed to get in the way.

Cardinals fans are considered some of the best in baseball and they prove it by showing up in droves, understanding the game and giving standing ovations for good plays and pitching changes. I found that there were more "trophy" fans getting up during pitches and not paying attention to the game at the new Busch than at the old stadium. This is common at new ballparks, as the ticket prices tend to shutout some of the fans who were at the older venue -- and it may have had something to do with the new ushers not controlling things. Some of that may have been worked out by now.

Other observations of my visit to the new Busch Stadium are: 1) The hot dogs are still some of the best in the majors, 2) The PA system was a tad on the weak side, 3) The ticket scanners sound like those at Disneyland (a little strange for a ballpark), 4) Hardee's on the upper concourse had gigantic burgers for just $6.00 in 2006, 5) Water was an outrageous $4.50 per bottle in 2006 and 6) The pizza was DiGiornio brand and lousy.

Despite the high prices and the new ballpark challenges that need to be fixed, the new Busch Stadium deserves a strong "A" grade.

How to get there:
Busch Stadium is in downtown Saint Louis less than a mile Southwest of the Gateway Arch. You can access several surface streets from the network of interstate freeways in the areas, such as I-70, I-64, I-55 and I-44. You need to take I-70 east from Lambert Airport, but I suggest riding the light rail system from the airport. It's cheap, fast and stops right at the ballpark.

City:
Saint Louis is known as the "Gateway to the West" due to its proximity in the Midwest at the junction of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The city is clean, easy to navigate and packed with things to see and do. The Gateway Arch and Jefferson National Expansion Memorial sit high on a bluff next to the Mississippi River and are a must see, as is the Union Station shopping complex in the west part of downtown. The people are nice, educated and sports crazy. They enjoy professional baseball, football and hockey, as well as mid-major college basketball. The weather is a bit of a drawback, with cold winters and oppressively hot summers, but overall Saint Louis is the type of town most people could easily call home.

Stuff to do while there:
The Gateway Arch is so big and beautiful that it almost looks like a painting. The ride to the top is hot and cramped, but well worth the trip, providing panoramic views of the city and river. The Budweiser Brewery is just 10 minutes south of downtown and provides a great tour with samples at the end. Union Station is a sprawling mall and entertainment complex that is busy all the time. You can also take a paddle wheel boat ride on the Mighty Mississippi.

Story:
In April 2006, I completed my long quest of seeing all the Major League Ballparks with a visit to the new Busch Stadium. I flew in from Miami after seeing the Marlins ballpark and saw two games in the new Cardinals venue.

In 1997, I saw three Interleague games in the old Busch Stadium between the Indians and Cardinals. I had just started a new job in Cleveland, so I had no vacation to work with. Hence, I had to fly in Friday night and miss the first Interleague game in both team's history. However, heavy rain forced the postponement of the Friday game and I was able to buy a ticket and catch the day-night double header on Saturday, as well as the Sunday game. Technically, I was able to see the first Interleague game after all! To make it more interesting, I took the Budweiser Brewery tour prior to the first game. After sampling the many beers on tap, I was fairly hammered by the time my taxi arrived at the stadium.

Fun facts:
The new ballpark sits on about 1/2 of the site where the old stadium used to stand.

The old Busch Stadium scoreboard was moved to the concourse of the new Busch Stadium complete with the final score from the Reds-Cardinals game.

Each seating section signs are ornate and come complete with a golden bird on top.

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The exterior of Busch Stadium
from the homeplate entrance
April 14, 2006

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A 3-photo mosaic of Busch
Stadium from near homeplate
April 15, 2006

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Sidney Ponson fires the game's
first pitch to Cincy's Ryan Freel
April 15, 2006

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Busch Stadium, downtown and the
Arch from the Busch upper deck
April 14, 2006

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A 4-photo mosaic of Busch
Stadium from left field
April 15, 2006

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Old Busch in 1997 and New
Busch in 2006 from the Arch
June 14, 1997

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The Stan Musial statue migrated
from Old Busch to New Busch
April 14, 2006

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Matt from the left field upper
deck concourse of New Busch
April 14, 2006

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Matt at the first Interleague
game in Old Busch Stadium
June 14, 1997