Busch Stadium

Located near the banks of the Mississippi River IN St. Louis, Missouri, Busch Stadium has been housing St. Louis baseball Cardinals since May 12, 1966 . The ballpark is actually the second Busch Stadium in St. Louis . The stadium was opened as a part of a downtown revitalization project. Five World Series have been played at Busch. The stadium was designed by Sverdrup & Parcel and Associates, Edward Durell Stone, and Schwarz & Van Hoefen, Associated. The stadium played a host to Major League Baseball All-Star game in 1966. The stadium is also a site where Mark McGwire hit his 62th and 70th homeruns. It is also a home of five time 20 game winner Bob Gibson. The site is also a home to Shortstop Ozzie, "The Wizard of Oz" Smith. The Busch Stadium is located in St. Louis , Missouri . It is positioned near the banks of the Mississippi and the royal Gateway arch.

The arena was initially recognized as the Sportsman's Park. In 1953, Anheuser-Busch, the world's third largest brewing company bought it from the St. Louis Browns. The company during its tenure of proprietorship backed the arena's construction. In 1996 it was purchased by a group of private investors, but still it bears the moniker of the brewing company. New ownership remodeled Busch Stadium in after football was no longer played at the stadium. Grass replaced the Astroturf, new seats were added, along with new scoreboards. The bullpens were placed behind the outfield fence, and the area behind the outfield was spruced up. In 1997, a 17' high x 270' wide manually operated scoreboard was built in center field and the visitors bullpen was moved to right field. Until 1982, the stadium came to be known as Busch Memorial Stadium. The stadium is a two-deck all-concrete facility with approximately half its seats in each deck. The seats completely surround the playing field without posts or columns to obstruct fans' views. Astroturf replaced natural grass in 1970, so the stadium could be converted from football to baseball more easily.

The arena is an embodiment of the legends who exhibited their determination and valor from time to time. To memorize their significance and their achievements bronze statues have been erected on the grounds of the stadium. Hall-of-Famers such as Bob Gibson and Stan Musial are among the list of their legends that have been given their due respect. The playing surface of the stadium has natural grass. From 1986 through 1987, the ballpark served as a home to the St. Louis Cardinals (football) until the club shifted to Arizona . The St. Louis Rams also competed there for a short period as a part of the 1995 NFL season. The arena is also a location of Mark McGwire's stunning 62nd home run that he hit in the 1998 season and superseded Roger Maris' single-season record. The Busch Stadium has many facilities including the Family Pavilion, which has many games and activities; Homer's Landing, a picnic area overlooking the bullpen in left center field, and a stadium club restaurant and bar. The stadium is planned to be bulldozed late in the year 2005. The new stadium has been scheduled to open in 2006. The Busch Stadium is indeed the fourth-oldest ballpark in the MLB.