My wife and I recently drove to St. Louis for a tech conference I spoke at, and post-conference attended the Cardinals/Cubs game at Busch Stadium, our previous attempt scuppered to watch the Iowa/South Carolina women’s basketball national championship (Go Hawks!).
Location, Location, Location
Busch Stadium is located in downtown St. Louis just a short walk from numerous hotels and the Gateway Arch National Park. Just north of the stadium, across Clarke Avenue, is Ballpark Village, a sports-themed district with restaurants, bars, etc. Nearby streets are closed prior to games, allowing for pre-game meandering and activities without the hassle of dodging cars.
Though parking is available, driving in the area is challenging pregame, so taking MetroLink appears easier. The stadium has its own stop.
Inside The Stadium
Bonus point #1: Coca-Cola is the soft drink vendor, whoo hoo! Vital since I abhor Pepsi…
Bonus point #2: wide concourses and walkways, both interior and exterior, providing adequate throughput as you move around the stadium (unlike Target Field with its narrow concourses and too many vendors create pressure points that are difficult to get through).
Bonus point #3: historical placards and elements scattered throughout, such as the history of baseball in St. Louis (near section 160, I believe) or the old Busch Stadium scoreboard (lower level concourse, first base side approaching home plate). I need to go on whatever tours they give, I would have enjoyed searching out all of the novelities.
Showtime!
The view of downtown is wonderful and will become spectacular after the demolition of the Millennium Hotel‘s tower unblocks more of the Gateway Arch.
Our seats were comfortable and provided great baseball viewing; I only looked at the field from a few places, but most seats seemed to have good, unobstructed views. The center field scoreboards are large and display high-quality graphics, including video, and the overall UX was pleasing with easy-to-find game information and statistics.
My only complaint: at first pitch the temperature was 94º and very humid. Likely par for mid-summer St. Louis, but at least a little breeze would have helped!
Final Thoughts
My hometown stadium is Target Field – though I am not a fan of its resident team – and after opening in 2010 quickly proved to be a monumental improvement over the Metrodome: despite my love of baseball, I stopped attending games around 2000, even Athletics‘ games. Space limitations constrained its design and didn’t leave any room for expansion.
Those limitations are magnified when you attend games at other stadiums, such as Busch Stadium. While regular attendees likely know its foibles, a first-timer can only admire other stadiums grandeur and imagination. Busch Stadium is definitely one of baseball’s top stadiums – at least of those I’ve visited – whether considering layout, crowd flow, amenities, audio quality, entertainment, and its unique character. The team and city appear willing to spend with what is commensurate to the team’s historical success (second most World Series championships after the Yankees). It is definitely a gem that St. Louis and the Cardinals should be proud of.
Unfortunately, we needed to start our long drive back to Minnesota early Saturday morning and therefore only stayed for few innings, but definitely hope to attend another game at this fine stadium!
Image Credits
Map screen capture from Google Maps.
All other images © 2025 Scott C Sosna, all rights reserved
