Yet Another Busch Stadium

7th Street (third base) entrance to the new Busch Stadium, Aug-2006.

The seating bowl, as seen from beyond left field.

The Gateway Arch is visible from the seats behind home plate.

Chronological Tour: Stop 309

• Location: Between 8th Street and Broadway, Clark Avenue and Poplar Street (I-64/US 40), St. Louis, Mo. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 2006
• Home team: St. Louis Cardinals, Major League Baseball (2006-present)
• Capacity: 46,000

Rating: 3 baseballs

When the 2005 playoffs ended, the Cardinals tore down the old park and completed the new Busch Stadium, on which construction had begun in 2004. The new park opened on time for the 2006 season.

The best feature of the new park is the fact that the Gateway Arch, part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial along the Mississippi riverfront, is clearly visible. The Arch is the best-known symbol of St. Louis.

In my opinion, the park’s worst feature is all the luxury boxes that consume two decks of the second level. The luxury box area is so tall that fans who walk up the access ramps have a nearly interminable trip. There are a few escalators, but they are not easy to find from every area of the park. Fortunately, there are also stairwells for egress.

All in all, I didn’t see the need for a new ballpark here. The old Busch Stadium was clearly the best of what had been called the “cookie cutter” parks, of which none saw action after 2008.

In the years after the stadium was built, the Cardinals added a “ballpark village” with dining and drinking establishments as well as the team Hall of Fame (separate admission charged). This has become a quite popular pre-game hangout, and it was emulated by the designers of the new ballpark for the Atlanta Braves a decade later.