| Built during the time of the multi-purpose craze, Busch Stadium was never considered a great or classic baseball park. But you have to give the Cardinals credit for doing as much as they could to make this feel more like a baseball-only park after the Rams left for their own new stadium. Most of the renovations were to the outfield - a manual scoreboard and championship flags took over much of the upper deck outfield seating (which was no loss). Because of the circular configuration, many of the seats did not provide good sightlines - especially those deep down the lines and in the outfield. The concourse was located mostly out of view from the field. It featured numerous concession stands, offering a good variety of selections, but substandard and expensive fare. My biggest complaint was the high prices - $25 for an outfield loge seat, $2.50 for a scorecard, $4 for a soda. Obviously the drawing power of Mark McGwire in the late 1990's allowed the Cardinals to raise their prices on everything without turning anyone off. The other side of having McGwire was the great atmosphere that he alone provided. The park was packed almost every night, and you could feel the excitement with each McGwire at-bat. Despite its downtown location, Busch Stadium did not fit in with the surrounding buildings - surely the new ballpark (scheduled to open in April 2006) will be aesthetically more pleasing. Parking was also expensive - $10 or more for some of the lots close by. Having been here in 1986 when it had artificial turf, the renovated Busch Stadium was a great improvement, enhanced even more in later years by the presence of Mark McGwire and some great Cardinal teams.
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