Busch Stadium

Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium III New Busch Stadium
Data
place	700 Clark Street St. Louis , Missouri 63102
Coordinates	38 ° 37 '25.1 "  N , 90 ° 11' 33.1"  W Coordinates: 38 ° 37 '25.1 "  N , 90 ° 11' 33.1"  W.
owner	St. Louis Cardinals
operator	St. Louis Cardinals
start of building	January 17, 2004
opening	April 4, 2006
surface	Natural grass
costs	365 million US dollars
architect	HOK Sport
capacity	46,861 seats
playing area	Left Field - 336 ft (102.5 m) Left Center - 375 ft (114 m) Center Field - 400 ft (122 m) Right Center - 375 ft (114 m) Right Field - 335 ft (102 m)
Societies)
St. Louis Cardinals ( MLB , since 2006)
Events
MLB All-Star Game 2009 NHL Winter Classic 2017

The Busch Stadium (often New Busch Stadium or Busch Stadium III is called) is a baseball stadium in St. Louis , Missouri , USA . Opened on 4 April 2006 Stadium is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League of Major League Baseball . It replaced the Busch Memorial Stadium and is partly in the same place as the old stadium.

history

The first official major league game at Busch Stadium was the Cardinals' 6-4 win against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 10, 2006. The stadium is already the third in St. Louis to be called Busch Stadium. Sportsman's Park was renamed Busch Stadium in 1953. After the "old" Busch Stadium was closed in 1966, a new multi-purpose arena was built for the Cardinals and the NFL team Arizona Cardinals , which was named Busch Memorial Stadium. These stadiums are all named after the former Cardinals team owner August Busch .

The Busch Stadium was selected by the MLB to host the MLB All-Star Game 2009 .

In addition, the 2017 NHL Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks will take place at Busch Stadium .

financing

The Cardinals team owners began planning a new ballpark in St. Louis in 1995, but the team was financially unable to do so. In June 2001, the state of Missouri signed a contract with the team that secured funding for several years. However, the subsequent financing plan was rejected.

As a result, the team owners looked for an alternative place in Madison , Illinois . In order not to lose the Cardinals, the city of St. Louis decided on a financing plan. The money to build came from private equity shares, financial institution loans, a long-term St. Louis County loan, and the private holdings of the team owners. The required budget of 646 million US dollars (about half for the stadium and half for the surrounding baseball village) was collected.

In the debut season, the Busch Stadium was sold out in every home game, which corresponded to a total of 3,407,104 spectators and represented the second largest backdrop in team history.

construction

The new and old Busch Stadium during construction

The new Busch Stadium was designed by HOK Sport + Venue + Event , an architectural firm specializing in sports facilities, and cost an estimated 365 million US dollars . It was built by Hunt Construction. The construction took place in different phases:

• Phase 1: Construction of the south side of the stadium.
• Phase 2: Demolition of the old stadium from November 7th to December 8th, 2005.
• Phase 3: Construction of the north side of the new stadium.

By the opening day, 37,962 seats and 2,751 standing places had been completed. The total capacity of 46,861 seats was reached on May 29, 2006 for the game against the Houston Astros .

Stadium details

Busch Stadium from above

Like several other new baseball stadiums that were built around the same time, the stadium is built in a relatively unpretentious industrial retro look that is reminiscent of the rise of baseball as a typical working class sport in the early 20th century. Brick masonry therefore dominates the outside area. While the old stadium was completely closed, the new stadium behind the outfield is open and allows a view of the surrounding area. You can see the panorama of St. Louis, as well as the world-famous Gateway Arch .

A bronze statue of the Cardinals legend Stan Musial stands in front of entrance 3 on the west side . Other statues that previously stood around the old Busch Memorial Stadium can now be found in front of Entrance 4.

The new stadium has almost the same dimensions as the old one. Only the foul territory is a bit smaller. The playing field dimensions are to be because the symmetry of the square neither batsman or before "fair", Pitcher , nor right or left at a disadvantage.

Before the 2015 season , walk-in metal detectors were installed at all entrances to the stadium . From the season 2016 visitors to the stadium offers a free is wireless - network available. In the course of a new one is video - display board installed.

Playoff story

On October 7th and 8th, 2006, the Busch Stadium hosted playoff games for the first time. It was Game 3 and 4 of the National League Division Series between the Cardinals and the San Diego Padres . Game 3 went 3-1 to the Padres, Game 4 won the Cardinals, who could thus decide the series for themselves.

On October 24, 26 and 27, 2006, the Busch Stadium hosted the 2006 World Series against the Detroit Tigers . The Cardinals won all three home games and secured their 10th title. With the Cardinals winning the World Series , the Busch Stadium is part of a very short list of stadiums that won the title in the opening year. The last time it did so was in Yankee Stadium in 1923 .

gallery

and display information about the image

Panoramic view of the Busch Stadium (2009)

Web links

Commons : Busch Stadium  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com: stadium on the MLB website of the St. Louis Cardinals (English)
• ballparks.com: Busch Stadium (English)
• andrewclem.com: Busch Stadium III (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Winter Classic Comes to St. Louis in 2017. In: NHL.com. Retrieved October 15, 2016 . 
2. ↑ stltoday.com: Busch Stadium now features walk-through metal detectors at every entrance Article from April 2, 2015 (English)
3. ↑ stadionwelt.de: WLAN network for baseball stadiums Article from December 11, 2015