ST. LOUIS — It's shocking opening day is not a school/work holiday in St. Louis. The team at Ballpark Village certainly agrees.
Hall of Fame Museum Curator Amy Berra, said "Absolutely, of course I do."
Ballpark Village Chief Operating Officer Mike LaMartina? "I definitely think it should be a holiday in St. Louis."
Katie Lee, owner of Katie's Pizza and Pasta said, "Well I thought it was, does everyone just call off then?"
Cardinals Authentics Supervisor Erick Jaffry has a special story about opening days growing up near St. Louis. "There's nothing like coming to opening day. I remember my mother who is a school teacher would call us out of school to come down to St. Louis opening day," he said.
Over at Cardinals Nation, Vicki Bryant laughed, "You mean it's not. Of course it should be a holiday, there's no work that gets done on opening day."'
Even if opening day was a holiday, it wouldn't be for them. LaMartina said, "It's one of our biggest days of the year."
Berra gets a special task on opening day. "Every opening day since 2013, I've carried trophies out onto the field." She said she doesn't even get nervous anymore!
Lee on the other hand, has the opening day jitters; it is Katie's Pizza and Pasta's first opening day.
"We are going be extra staffed to get people everything they need and we have lots of room," Lee told 5 On your Side, "we've been practicing and having lots of meetings and we are ready to go."
Across the field plaza, Cardinals Nation is an opening day pro. "We're celebrating our 10th anniversary this year," Bryant said. "We brought back a lot of the fan favorites and we've also got 18 new items added to our menu."
Speaking of new, Cardinals Authentics Supervisor Erick Jaffry said, "One of the favorite things that I think this year is new, is vials of dirt that come with a piece of a game-used base."
To see the new digs, head up to the second floor Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum. Berra and her team are putting the finishing touches of “¡Viva! Los Cardinales” a celebration Hispanic and Latin players. The exhibit will debut on opening day.
What more could anyone want? More screens maybe? Well, Ballpark Village is working on that too. Two more giant LCD screens are in the works next to the giant 60-foot-plus one above the Bally Sports Live! Bar.