Overview: This is the current Busch Stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals. This is our home ballpark. “New Busch”, as we call it, was first used in 2006. It’s a multi-level stadium, with an outfield view of the Gateway Arch in Center Field. It has a brick facade, and concources on the lower and upper levels of the park. You cannot bring in backpacks. You can bring in some food items and factory sealed bottled water (refer to https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/ballpark for details).

Ballpark Village is across the street from the Stadium, which houses some restaurants and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum, which is really good and well worth the admission price.

Parking: The parking situation is not the greatest. There are parking garages near the stadium, running from $15-$25 generally. Some of the parking lots are suspect. Downtown St. Louis does have a high rate of car break-ins, although it’s never personally happened to us. There is also a light rail option, MetroLink, that has a stop at the 3rd base side of the stadium. MetroLink is okay, however, most locals would prefer not to ride it given past security issues and lack of police presence. Again, I haven’t personally felt endangered, but some rides are “interesting”. I’d recommend paying to park in a garage, and make sure you lock your doors.

Kid Activities: As for kids’ activities, it’s limited. There is a Kid Zone in the Ford Plaza in center field. It is indoors and kind of stuffed away in an area in which you can’t see the game. The area consists of a playground, a pay-to-play pitching cage, and a virtual reality game. THAT’S IT. A bummer compared to most of the parks we have visited. Fredbird does come here for free photos/selfies. The stadium gives out free first game certificates.

Side note: The best kid activity at Busch isn’t inside the park at all. As mentioned above, the St Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum at Ballpark Village is very well done. It has interactive exhibits, like making famous calls in an announcer’s booth. You can hold bats from your favorite Cardinals. There is a lot to see. Both of our kids like it.

Player Accessibility: In terms of player accessibility, it is SUPER TOUGH. The Cardinals are on the third base dugout and you will be lucky to get 1 person to sign. Most autograph hounds run to the opponents’ dugout at gate open, positioning themselves at the Stan Musial statue gate. Visiting teams are hit and miss, and expect a mob to develop as soon as someone starts signing. Nolan got squished pretty bad last year to get Francisco Lindor, and he isn’t too excited about trying it again at Busch.

Conclusion: Overall, Busch Stadium is referred to as “Baseball Heaven”. The crowd is very knowledgable and very complimentary of a good play (even for the opponents). They cheer for hustle, double plays, and sacrifice flies. Cardinals fans are very pleasant for the most part. They pride themselves on being “the best fans in baseball”, a moniker they take very seriously. Expect larger crowds than you will see on average at other ballparks, but don’t be afraid to root for your team and wear your team’s gear. You’ll be fine.

Ratings:

• parking **** (4/10)
• kid activities **** (4/10)
• player accessibility * (1/10)
• atmosphere ******** (8/10)