St. Louis Cardinals – New Busch Stadium

New Busch Stadium

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

The “New Bush Stadium” (aka “Busch Stadium III”) is the 3rd park that I have visited for which I had visited the previous park (now known as “Busch Memorial Stadium” which stood from 1966-2005) — The other two being the Phillies and Padres. I have since learned, that the original Busch Stadium known as “Sportsman Park” (1953-66) was long gone before I was born.

It’s always great to go back to a city that has an upgraded ballpark, and this was no exception. And this ballpark has been seriously upgraded.

The Old Busch Stadium (see my review on August 9, 2002) was lacking in many ways. It was part of the 60’s/70’s trend of old-school big cement circles that held a lot of people, but lacked a lot of charm. And one of my main complaints is that you could not see the arch from the stadium.

Well, they pretty much fixed all of that with the new stadium that opened in 2006. The new stadium is comprised of a red brick facade and steel to better mimic the downtown area. The new ballpark also left a big gaping hole in centerfield to afford many of the guests a framed view of the arch. Much better!

This time, I was on a UFC Countdown shoot and met up at a sushi restaurant in “Ballpark Village,” which is a collection of restaurants and bars adjacent to the park. Opened in 2014, the main section is like a hug open-air bar with a metal roof, reminding me of the St. Lous Union Station a few miles away. This is a great place to pre-party or simply watch the game if you can’t get a ticket. It definitely shows the city’s love of baseball that they can use this area as almost an “overflow” ballpark area for fans.

I should also mention that just outside Ballpark Village, we were able to purchase beers on the street, and even walk around with them. Seemed questionably legal at first, but apparently it is! The street between the Village and the park was shut down, so we were able to walk around and enjoy the great weather and views with beer in hand.

We landed some great seats for this one, about 10 rows behind home plate on the lower level. Amazing view. And besides a great view of the arch, we could even see local celebrity Nelly from our seats.

As for the game, the Cardinals ended up taking an early lead, but eventually fell to the Colorado Rockies 6-3. But it didn’t matter much as the new park was the real star here.

Main Entrance

Ballpark Village

Nelly at the game

Admission Ticket