ST. LOUIS — In just over a week, the St. Louis Cardinals are returning to Busch Stadium and fans will notice a number of changes around the ballpark.
Busch Stadium may be quiet now, but over the course of the regular season, it will be flooded by more than three million fans.
"It's a celebration of St. Louis, of tradition, of the weather turning,” Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III said. “It's just that moment in the air that everybody always looks forward too, and I think it always delivers."
After two years of planning, the team has overhauled the center field pavilion by turning it into an arcade with video games, ski-ball and a fast pitch simulator where your kids can show off their skills.
"You want them to have fun while they're here, so they keep coming back and enjoying the baseball game,” Senior Director of Hospitality Nate Green said. “Whether they can sit in the seats for nine innings, or three innings at a time, they can come here and have a good time, go play and go back to their seats. Grab a hot dog. Grab a kid's meal."
If you need more than cotton candy on demand, you can head up to the new Freddy's Frozen Custard in right field where you can get ice cream nachos or a Slinger Dog.
"It's a nice big bakery fresh bun with a 1/3lb beef hot dog on a bed of hash browns, topped off with taco meat and two fried eggs,” Vice President of Event Services and Merchandising Vicki Bryant said. “It is delicious!"
If burgers and brats aren't your style, you can head over to the new FarmTruk location, where chef Samantha Mitchell has put her own spin on St. Louis BBQ with a Reuben and pork belly confit.
"We're making the pork belly and the bacon in-house,” FarmTruk owner Samantha Mitchell said. “We cure it ourselves, we smoke it, and then we submerge it in duck fat and cook it until it's fork tender."
In left field, the Bowtie Bar has been replaced with the new 703 Club, an all-inclusive area celebrating Albert Pujols with wood-fired pizzas, fresh pasta and a full-service bar.
"We really try to make it so there's something new every year that keeps them coming back,” DeWitt III said. “You know you're in the $100+ range of a ticket, but the experience matches that price."
In addition to the all-inclusive offerings, the club is offering $5 tickets for 90% of their games.
The team will also be giving back to the community as they do every year through Cardinals Cares.
"We have our own youth baseball softball program, we give grants to other nonprofits that support kids. And we also have ball fields that we've built," Cardinals Cares Executive Director Michael Hall said.
The team's foundation supports those efforts through donations like 50/50 raffles and auctions throughout the stadium.
This year, they're also getting a Komen Cardinals walk team together to support the Komen Foundation and hosting a blood drive for the American Red Cross.
"Being able to have our Cardinals blood drive and have more units of blood collected to be able to save lives is really important," Director of Community Relations Meghan Essman said.
The Cardinals and Dodgers will begin the 2024 season at 3:10 p.m. Thursday in Los Angeles. St. Louis will have its home opener on April 4 against the Miami Marlins.
To watch 5 On Your Side broadcasts or reports 24/7, 5 On Your Side is always streaming on 5+. Download for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV or the Apple TV App Store.