Sunday, December 12, 2010

Busch Stadium

Busch Stadium home of the St. Louis Cardnials
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Cincinnati Reds defeat St. Louis Cardinals 6-1
Year Built 2006
Seating Capacity 46,000



Stadium Location
Busch Stadium is isolated on the edge of downtown but easy to get to from the MetroLink.There isn't really too much going on around the stadium. Driving into St. Louis you feel like you might run into the stadium it's so close the the highway.

Overall Look and Feel

The design of Busch Stadium took into account the context of downtown St. Louis, the colorful history of the Cardinals, and the best attributes of the most successful ballparks built around baseball. With classic arched openings and rich warm colors, this ballpark is inspired by the classics. However, its creative use of old and new materials, from brick and concrete to exposed steel and glass, creates an architectural statement that stands on its own, with a modern sensibility appropriate for the 21st century.

This seemed to be one of the biggest stadiums we have been to so far. The attendance that day was almost at 45,000. One of the first things we noticed was that the stadium was built with a lot of brick, both outside and in. There was is even a walk way that has a time line of the team history and player milestones laid out in brick all around the stadium. It's no secret that Anheuser-Busch brewery is in town with all the Budweiser and Bud Light ads incorporated throughout the stadium (way more than normal at a ballpark). The main concourse was backwards from the other stadiums we have visited. The concessions and vendors were on the interior preventing what would be a view of the field and the openness as you walk around the main level. Instead of being able to stand throughout the main concourse to watch the game, you are forced into a small "standing room only" section located between the steps going to the upper level of the lower sections. It felt a little awkward standing there. However, as a side note there didn't seem to be a bad seat in the house. Ford Plaza was a really cool area in the outfield that had a kids/family friendly zone with games and a play area. There were also a lot of vendors and a picnic table area. On the upper concourse they also had an area with picnic tables and bar tables. You could hear the radio broadcast throughout the concourses and in the restrooms (which were extremely clean according to Tim!)




Food
Over all the food was very expensive. Beers were $8.75 for a 16oz draft. The hot dog was average - warm and juicy. Every station was out of mustard so we just had ketchup on it. There was also a barbecue sauce option. We also got a soft pretzel with cheese which was standard. We didn't try any of the Hits and Errors recommended because we had a few beers and we were out of money! Bonus points for having the "Captains Corner" on the second level - Captain is Kristy's drink of choice!


WOW Factor
The overall size of the stadium was a wow factor. The number of championship pennants the Cardinals have was also impressive. Tim also thought the old school looking scoreboard on the main concourse that had up-to-date scores of other games going on was a nice touch. The view of the city, the arch, and the Budweiser logo on top of the scoreboard was pretty cool too!



Scoreboard and Entertainment
While a new electronic scoreboard is used, the old scoreboard is on display as a monument to the old stadium as well. 



Overall Experience
Rating 3.0
The fact that we were in St. Louis to see our first place reds (up 7 games at the end of the series) made the experience that much better. The Reds won and we saw the Cuban Missile for the first time in person. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was hot. We hung out in the outfield for a bit but then made our way up to the second level and found a great spot to stand in the shade with a good view of the game. Waiting in line wasn't a problem even with about 45,000 people in attendance.

We wore some Cincinnati Reds gear but didn't get to much crap from Cardinal fans. It was even pretty tame riding the very crowded MetroLink to the stadium with a sea of Cardinal fans. The security guard at the station wanted to send us to the airport instead of the direction of the stadium - ha ha funny guy! The Cardinals now have a t-shirt that says Phillips: St. Louis' Bitch. Brandon Phillips got booed anytime he was up to bat or made a play in the field and probably will in St. Louis for the rest of his career.

Brandon Phillips "I hate the Cardinals"





We couldn't get to may good pics because we forgot out camera battery :( Overall we had a great time in St. Louis and at the game. We thought the stadium had some nice touches.

As a side note - do not go to Morgan Street Brewery and order the pizza... yuck!




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