Busch Stadium

Busch Stadium home of the St. Louis Cardnials
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Cincinnati Reds defeat St. Louis Cardinals 6-1
Year Built 2006
Seating Capacity 46,000



Stadium Location
Busch Stadium is isolated on the edge of downtown but easy to get to from the MetroLink.There isn't really too much going on around the stadium. Driving into St. Louis you feel like you might run into the stadium it's so close the the highway.

Overall Look and Feel

The design of Busch Stadium took into account the context of downtown St. Louis, the colorful history of the Cardinals, and the best attributes of the most successful ballparks built around baseball. With classic arched openings and rich warm colors, this ballpark is inspired by the classics. However, its creative use of old and new materials, from brick and concrete to exposed steel and glass, creates an architectural statement that stands on its own, with a modern sensibility appropriate for the 21st century.

This seemed to be one of the biggest stadiums we have been to so far. The attendance that day was almost at 45,000. One of the first things we noticed was that the stadium was built with a lot of brick, both outside and in. There was is even a walk way that has a time line of the team history and player milestones laid out in brick all around the stadium. It's no secret that Anheuser-Busch brewery is in town with all the Budweiser and Bud Light ads incorporated throughout the stadium (way more than normal at a ballpark). The main concourse was backwards from the other stadiums we have visited. The concessions and vendors were on the interior preventing what would be a view of the field and the openness as you walk around the main level. Instead of being able to stand throughout the main concourse to watch the game, you are forced into a small "standing room only" section located between the steps going to the upper level of the lower sections. It felt a little awkward standing there. However, as a side note there didn't seem to be a bad seat in the house. Ford Plaza was a really cool area in the outfield that had a kids/family friendly zone with games and a play area. There were also a lot of vendors and a picnic table area. On the upper concourse they also had an area with picnic tables and bar tables. You could hear the radio broadcast throughout the concourses and in the restrooms (which were extremely clean according to Tim!)

Food
Over all the food was very expensive. Beers were $8.75 for a 16oz draft. The hot dog was average - warm and juicy. Every station was out of mustard so we just had ketchup on it. There was also a barbecue sauce option. We also got a soft pretzel with cheese which was standard. We didn't try any of the Hits and Errors recommended because we had a few beers and we were out of money! Bonus points for having the "Captains Corner" on the second level - Captain is Kristy's drink of choice!

WOW Factor
The overall size of the stadium was a wow factor. The number of championship pennants the Cardinals have was also impressive. Tim also thought the old school looking scoreboard on the main concourse that had up-to-date scores of other games going on was a nice touch. The view of the city, the arch, and the Budweiser logo on top of the scoreboard was pretty cool too!

Scoreboard and Entertainment
While a new electronic scoreboard is used, the old scoreboard is on display as a monument to the old stadium as well. 

Overall Experience
Rating 3.0
The fact that we were in St. Louis to see our first place reds (up 7 games at the end of the series) made the experience that much better. The Reds won and we saw the Cuban Missile for the first time in person. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was hot. We hung out in the outfield for a bit but then made our way up to the second level and found a great spot to stand in the shade with a good view of the game. Waiting in line wasn't a problem even with about 45,000 people in attendance.

We wore some Cincinnati Reds gear but didn't get to much crap from Cardinal fans. It was even pretty tame riding the very crowded MetroLink to the stadium with a sea of Cardinal fans. The security guard at the station wanted to send us to the airport instead of the direction of the stadium - ha ha funny guy! The Cardinals now have a t-shirt that says Phillips: St. Louis' Bitch. Brandon Phillips got booed anytime he was up to bat or made a play in the field and probably will in St. Louis for the rest of his career.

Brandon Phillips "I hate the Cardinals"





We couldn't get to may good pics because we forgot out camera battery :( Overall we had a great time in St. Louis and at the game. We thought the stadium had some nice touches.

As a side note - do not go to Morgan Street Brewery and order the pizza... yuck!

PNC Park

PNC Park home of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Sunday, August 22, 2010
New York Mets lose to Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1
Built in 2001
Seating Capacity 38,362

Location
PNC Park is located across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh. The stadium has amazing views of the city, it almost looks fake. Given how bad the team is, we easily found parking downtown and walked across one of the yellow bridges. Beware of the tunnels if you are coming into town from the east for a game. People in Pittsburgh have tunnelphobia and it takes forever to get through.

Overall Look and Feel
From the Pirates website...PNC Park is a classic-style ballpark, an intimate facility that embraces the progressiveness of Pittsburgh while saluting the spirit of early ballpark originals such as Forbes Field, Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates since their inception in 1887.


The views are what make this stadium great. As you cross the bridge walking from the city you get an overall view of the inside of the park. Once inside the stadium you will see the "scenic vistas of the downtown skyline and riverfront". It is very well done. As you approach the entrance of the stadium, there is a large statue of Roberto Clemente. The stadium has a few bars and restaurants built into the outside of the ballpark, where you can grab a bite or a drink before heading into the game. There is seating outside. This stadium has a similar layout as the previous two with the open main concourse with the view of the field all around. It felt updated and modern. There isn't really anywhere to stand and watch the game from the outfield with the river walk. There was a steel crisscross staircase in left field where you could hang out. We came across a covered area in the outfield with limited seating behind a fence that almost felt VIP. The area might have been for handicap seating. There was this tiny old lady hanging out in this area with all her good luck charms rootin' for the home team.

Food
Primanti Brothers, a Pittsburgh specialty, didn't live up to the hype, though were told it's much better in the restaurants outside the stadium. We got a hot dog and it was yummy, one of the top ones tasted so far. It was juicy, a little sweet, and had a good crunch to it! Maybe it's because the Heinz ketchup was as fresh as it gets from the factory! They had canned beer which was pretty cool - plastic bottles can get warm so fast, the cans were interesting to see. They even had Yuengling, which was the drink of choice throughout the weekend. Some of the concessions had a unique theme to them and there was even a food court, Pop's Plaza. My brother got some chicken fingers and fries from the food court. I can see why we should have avoided the food in that area - chicken wasn't that good and the fries were soggy.

WOW Factor
The views are the wow factor in this stadium - both of the ballpark and of the city. Another cool touch are the bushes in the outfield that spell out Pirates.

Scoreboard and Entertainment
The scoreboard is out in left field and is average size compared to what we are used to at Great American. The light towers on both sides add an old time baseball park feel. This is the first scoreboard that we noticed a special section that had closed captioning. The introduction for the Pirate's line-up had a pirate theme where the players were in an old pirate town and swords clanged together - it was clever.

Overall Experience
Rating 3.5
After a long night of partying at my cousin Jackie's wedding, my brothers, Steph, Tim and me decided to go to the game for just a bit. We got to the stadium very early and left right after the 1st inning. I think we will probably go back to stay for a whole game when the Pirates play the Reds next year. This is one of the first stadiums we have seen that isn't all that kid friendly, there isn't a large play area like we have seen in other parks. We were impressed with the stadium and the views and got to enjoy both for a bit from some good seats we had no problem commandeering!