Back in 2006, the USRT paid its official visit to St. Louis’ new Busch Stadium, which we will go out on a limb and name the final of the HOK “retro themed” cookie cutters which will ever be built. Admittedly, we were there when the ballpark was still pretty new - the left field outfield was still under construction, the old Busch Stadium site was a hole on the ground, and the bonehead things the front office did, like putting the retired numbers on an ad panel facing the outside of the stadium (among others), has been rectified.

Yesterday we got an email from someone named Scott Treiber (presumably from St. Louis), who very succinctly pointed out things we may have not expounded upon in our venue profile, and passionately defends his home venue. It’s very well put together by Scott…

Let me point out a few things that you may not know:

The brick facade is retro, but did you know that the color was picked from the famous and historic Wainright Building? A building that many architects consider the first true skyscraper in the world.

The old ballpark was famous for its arches. Did you know that the new one has them too? They aren’t the same, and in all fairness, it wouldn’t be right to copy the old design. The new arches are designed from St. Louis’ historic Couples Station.

Did you know that the Musial Bridge on the 3rd base side was designed after St. Louis’ historic Eads Bridge that was built in the ealry 1820’s and was the only way to cross the Mississippi River. This is part of what made St. Louis one of the three transportation hubs of the entire country.

Did you know that from the street level in center field down to the field is a 40 foot drop, which meant the scoreboard could be positioned lower and smaller to allow for dramatic views of the Gateway Arch?

You already know that they kept the old manually operated scoreboards.

Did you know that the ballpark’s brickwork is adorned with various versions of the Cardinals’ logos over their 120+ year history?

Did you know that we still have Big Mac Land?

Did you know that we still have one of baseball’s best organists, Ernie Hayes?

Did you know that the light standards were designed to have the lights in vertical columns instead of horizontal because it’s easier for outfielders to find a pop fly?

Did you know that each of the luxury suites and party suites is named after a Cardinal Hall of Famer or current Cardinal?

Did you know that outside the Cardinals Club behind home plate is a beautiful statue of Gussie Busch? The Cardinals once proud owner.

You already know that they still play the Budweiser Clydesdale’s “Here Comes the King”.

Did you know that after the Cardinals won their 10th World Series Championship, now their NL Penants and World Series Championships are proudly displayed above the league scoreboard outside the first base exterior?

I know that you liked the tributes to the hall of famers at the old ballpark…but you couldn’t see those flags anyway. Now they are permanently displayed below the main scoreboard (in larger lettering now) and the left field wall.

I know you don’t care for the position of Stan the Man, but when you walk across the street (Spruce Street) and look back at the Musial Bridge with his statue right below…it looks perfect and wouldn’t look good anywhere else!

I know that you think the video replay and other technology “failed the test” but in all honesty, we don’t need some oversized gawdy looking scoreboard. We have also seen ballparks that over-use the LED ribbon boards, and we just don’t think that baseball was meant for all of those electronics. People love Wrigley Field for that reason. I personally think that the Cardinals made a statement with their scoreboard. We don’t need something huge. Don’t forget that the league scoreboard is twice as large as it was in 2006.

I think you gave Busch Stadium a pretty poor rating when it didn’t quite deserve it. You visited the ballpark when it was still going through growing pains. And you may remember that the ballpark was even completed when you were there. Given the fact that the new one overlaps the old one, construction crews did an amazing job getting as much done as they did. Don’t forget, Busch Stadium is only 3 years old.

The new Busch Stadium is by far better than Petco Park, Camden Yards, Minute Maid Park, Miller Park, Great American Ballpark, U.S. Cellular Field, Safeco Field, Jacob’s Field, Texas Rangers Ballpark, Coors Field, Rogers Centre, Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Kauffman Stadium, and Angels Stadium.

I think you really missed the mark on this one!

Scott

For the record, Busch Stadium ranked 21 out of 30 in the USRT ratings. Hey, we’d be happy to do a return visit to St. Louis and see the place again - one of the cities we really like visiting again and again!

RSS 2.0 Respond Trackback