This article is about the current sports venue in St. Louis, Missouri, that opened in 2006. For the stadium in St. Louis that operated from 1966 to 2005, see Busch Memorial Stadium. For the ballpark known as "Busch Stadium" from 1953 to 1966, see Sportsman's Park.
Left field — 336 feet (102 m) Left center field — 375 feet (114 m) Center field — 400 feet (122 m) Right center field — 375 feet (114 m) Right field — 335 feet (102 m)
Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseballstadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the home of Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals. It has a seating capacity of 44,383,[2] with 3,706 club seats and 61 luxury suites. It replaced Busch Memorial Stadium (aka Busch Stadium II) and occupies a portion of that stadium's former footprint. A commercial area dubbed Ballpark Village was built adjacent to the stadium over the remainder of the former stadium's footprint.
The stadium opened on April 4, 2006 with an exhibition between the minor leagueMemphis Redbirds and Springfield Cardinals (both affiliates of the St. Louis Cardinals), which Springfield won 5–3 with right-hander Mike Parisi recording the first win. The first official major league game occurred on April 10, 2006, as the Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 6–4 behind an Albert Pujols home run and winning pitcher Mark Mulder.
In 2004, then-Anheuser-Busch president August Busch IV announced that the brewing giant had purchased 20-year naming rights for the stadium. Team owner William DeWitt Jr. said: "From the day we began planning for the new ballpark, we wanted to keep the name 'Busch Stadium.' August Busch IV and Anheuser-Busch share our vision for continuing that tradition for our great fans and the entire St. Louis community."[18]
It is the third stadium in St. Louis to carry the name Busch Stadium. Sportsman's Park was renamed Busch Stadium in 1953; then-team owner August Busch Jr. had planned to name it Budweiser Stadium, but at the time league rules prohibited naming a venue after an alcoholic beverage.[19] Busch named the stadium after himself, and the Anheuser-Busch corporation later introduced "Busch Beer". The first Busch Stadium closed in 1966 and both the baseball Cardinals, and the National Football League (NFL)'s team of the same name (now the Arizona Cardinals) moved to a new multi-purpose stadium, named Busch Memorial Stadium (Busch Stadium II).[20]
^Bausch, Mark; Orf, Tom; Schott, Tom (March 19, 2018). 2018 St. Louis Cardinals Official Media Guide [Busch Stadium Facts and Figures]. Major League Baseball Advanced Media. p. 458.