Busch Memorial Stadium

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The stadium served as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals National League baseball team for its entire operating existence, while also serving as home to the National Football League's Cardinals team for 22 seasons, from 1966 through 1987, as well as the St. Louis Rams for the entire 1995 season. It opened four days after the last baseball game was played at Sportsman's Park. The St. Louis Stars of the NPSL and later NASL played at the stadium from 1967 to 1974; the team later used the stadium for select matches up through the 1977 season. The stadium was designed by Sverdrup & Parcel and built by Grün & Bilfinger. Edward Durell Stone designed the roof, a 96-arch 'Crown of Arches'. The Crown echoed the Gateway Arch, which had been completed only a year before Busch Stadium opened. Its final event was the sixth game of the 2005 National League Championship Series on October 19. The stadium was demolished by wrecking ball in late 2005 and part of its former footprint is occupied by its replacement—the new Busch Stadium (a.k.a. Busch Stadium III), located to its south.

In Their Own Story

Construction began on May 25, 1964, utilizing eminent domain to clear rundown areas including a historic opera house that had become a strip club. The project was massive, adding parking garages and office buildings to revitalize a 31-block business district. When the NFL's Chicago Cardinals moved to St. Louis in late 1959, the original baseball-only design was altered to accommodate football, leading to a unique dual-tenant arrangement. By 1970, the intense heat of St. Louis summers forced the replacement of natural grass with AstroTurf, though the team kept a full dirt infield for eight seasons. The artificial surface created playing conditions among the hottest in baseball, with temperatures well above official readings. In 1981, Anheuser-Busch purchased the stadium for $53 million and removed "Memorial" from its name. Following the Rams' departure after October 22, 1995, the Cardinals retrofitted the venue into a baseball-only facility, closing upper deck seats and restoring natural grass.

Reader's Guide

The stadium opened on May 12, 1966, as Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium. The 'Civic Center' part was rarely used, and most people called it simply Busch Memorial Stadium. The stadium's grass was replaced with AstroTurf in 1970. Anheuser-Busch bought the stadium in 1981 for $53 million and removed the 'Memorial' from the stadium's name, becoming simply Busch Stadium. Following Busch's last 1995 event—the Rams' October 22 game before the opening of the Dome at America's Center—the Cardinals retrofitted it into a baseball-only stadium. A large section of the upper deck outfield seats was closed, replaced with a hand-operated scoreboard and flags commemorating the Cardinals' retired numbers and World Series championships. The stadium's original natural grass field was restored, and the outfield walls were re-painted green from their original blue.

Did You Know?

• The stadium was built as Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium, but its official name was shortened to Busch Stadium in January 1982.
• The stadium's roof featured a 96-arch 'Crown of Arches' designed by Edward Durell Stone, echoing the Gateway Arch.
• The stadium was demolished by wrecking ball in late 2005, not by implosion.
• The stadium's grass was replaced with AstroTurf in 1970, then natural grass was restored after the 1995 season.