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Upon arrival at Busch Stadium, one thing comes completely clear, the planners of this park certainly did all they could to remind fans of the rich history of the Cardinals, while also keeping a modern look present with the park.

The entire stadium is brick and is decorated all around with historical facts about the Cardinals and their impact on the history of baseball. While many stadiums today have incorporated monuments and statues into their décor, Busch has as many, if not more than any other Major League stadium. In fact, it may be the only stadium where one player has two statues. Stan Musial has both a medium sized statue in the middle of other famous Cardinals, including Ozzie Smith among others; he also has a much larger than life statue with his own brick pathway on the same concourse outside of the stadium.

Also featured with a statue is longtime broadcaster Jack Buck, but his memorial is complete with a soundtrack of some of the greatest calls in Cardinal (and baseball) history.

As many baseball followers may remember, the stadium the Cardinals played in before this one was also called Busch Stadium, and it is not forgotten. One can see where the old stadium was even though the new one was virtually built on top of it due to the fact that there are lines notating where the field was.

Speaking to some long time fans of the Cardinals in St Louis, it was obvious that they thought there was a need for a new stadium, but there was also some reservation in these sentiments as they were so used to the older building. The major concerns were that the ball carries differently in the new park than it did in the old one and they believe it is just not as consistent or reliable as in the old park.

Image via Wikipedia

While baseball fans are more traditional than any other group, this is not to say that the fans don’t appreciate the new stadium. While sitting in the stadium, one can see a beautiful view of downtown St. Louis with the arch able to be seen right over the skyline.

Other than what is mentioned above, the stadium has all of the bells and whistles of most modern ballparks. They have a decent menu of food offered at relatively decent prices for Major League ballpark food.

Their team shop is larger than normal and does offer more options for all genders and ages than most other stadiums possess. It was also clear that the city truly embraced the All Star game last year. Even though this reviewer’s tour took place a month after the game had taken place, the area of the city surrounding the ballpark was still alive with excitement and small arcs commemorating the game.

While walking around the outside of the stadium, a fan feels like they are taking a walk through history. Even though one can’t walk all of the way around the stadium on the walkway, the three-fourths that can be walked is both entertaining and educational. Every ten feet or so features a large brick commemorating a great moment in Cardinal history starting with the beginning of the franchise and carrying all of the way up through recent Cardinal events.

Major League Stadium Grade: 3.75/5

Overall Stadium Grade: 3.5/5

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