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Busch Stadium
Home of the St. Louis Cardinals
Busch Stadium, originally known as the Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium, was
opened in May 1966 after only two years of construction. The stadium was named
after the Busch family, of Anheuser-Busch fame, who contributed substantially
to the development and also owned the St. Louis Cardinals until 1996. Under the
architectural design of Edward Durrell Stone, the 30-acre Busch Stadium was
built on a $20 million budget. Once officially opened, Busch Stadium was called
one of the best in America.
Throughout the years, many improvements have been made in an attempt to
preserve the stadium's presence. In order for any venue to remain profitable,
it must keep with the times and technology. Busch Stadium did just that as
renovations were made throughout the years of it's existence. Among them, a
commemorative scoreboard, a natural-grass playing field replacing the
artificial turf in 1996 and the opening of the Family Pavilion and Homer's
Landing.
The current Busch Stadium has a seating capacity of over 50,000. For years,
fans have watched many of baseball's historical moments happen here. To
commemorate such moments, fans enjoy the presence of bronze statues featuring
Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter, Bob Gibson and others as they grace the stadium
with a touch of history. Among the special moments at Busch Stadium is the fact
that it has been host to six different World Series games. The stadium was also
the location of Mark McGwire's 1998 historic 62nd homerun, which broke the
single-season record of Roger Maris. Busch Stadium was also the site of
McGwire's 70th homerun during that same season which, until Barry Bonds
surpassed it in 1991, was a new record all it's own.
Despite all of the improvements and the tradition held in the hearts of many,
fans will bid farewell to the current Busch Stadium at the end of the 2005
baseball season. After 39 years, it will be time to say goodbye as the stadium
is set to be demolished. It will be replaced with a new Busch Stadium, which is
scheduled to open in April 2006. For baseball fans, a lot of tradition will be
demolished along with Busch Stadium. However, new memories and traditions will
rise with the construction of the new Busch Stadium and fans will, once again,
watch history being made. There is no doubt that Major League Baseball's St.
Louis Cardinals will soon flock to a new Busch Stadium and will be bringing
their fans along for the ride.
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