Whether or not the St. Louis Cardinals play well (they didn’t last year and they’re not expected to this year, either), Opening Day is about as close to a High Holy Day in St. Louis as it gets.
The Cardinals will start the 2026 season today at Busch Stadium, which this year reaches something of a milestone: the stadium hosted its first game almost exactly 20 years ago. In 2006, the home opener wasn’t until April 10; this was back when Major League Baseball tried to keep the regular season under seven months.
Busch Stadium III was built over a couple of years in nearly the same footprint as its predecessor. It was quite a project; the first-base side was built just south of the existing stadium — Busch Stadium II — while the Cardinals played the 2005 season. (The first Busch Stadium, AKA Sportsman’s Park, was in north St. Louis and lasted until 1966, when it was replaced by Busch II.) Once the 2005 campaign was ended, Busch II was promptly torn down and the remainder of Busch III was built in what used be right field of the old stadium.
I was working downtown at the time, and enjoyed following the progress of the project during my lunchtime walks. Below are some pictures of the construction of Busch Stadium III and the demolition of Busch Stadium II.
January 2004
The land south of Busch II, formerly a parking lot, is cleared and excavation begins.
March-June 2004
The outlines of the new stadium begin to take shape.
September 2004
The first bones of the new stadium’s skeleton are in place.
March 2005
The new stadium — at least the seating along the first-base line — is starting to become recognizable. Meanwhile, immediately to the north, the old stadium is being readied for the 2005 season, which will be its last.
July 2005
The new right-field corner is looking good.
August 2005
Apologies for this image; it was taken from the Gateway Arch on a rainy, foggy day. But I included it because it provides a good look at the proximity of the new construction with the old stadium. Also, if you look closely you can see the red in the seating tiers, indicating that many of the actual seats are actually in place.
October 2005
The Cardinals’ season has ended; fortunately for the contractors, the team didn’t make the playoffs, so they can proceed as early as possible to the next phase of the project, the demolition of the old stadium and completion of the new.
November 2005
Demolition of the old stadium begins with the south end. In just a few weeks, the 40-year-old Busch II is brought down and the ground cleared for the construction of the remaining parts of Busch III.
March 2006
After a busy winter construction season, the new ballpark is almost ready. The final touches are being put in place, and the new stadium is ready by opening day (although several seating sections aren’t quite finished and won’t be opened for several weeks after the season begins).
The area to the north of the new stadium — previously the site of Busch II — was an empty field following the completion of the construction. Over the next 20 years, that area has been built up with an entertainment district called Ballpark Village, with hotels and condos.
Meanwhile, inside the new stadium, the Cardinals have found a measure of success: they won the World Series in the stadium’s first year and again in 2011, and lost the World Series in 2012. So of the 20 World Series held since Busch III opened, three of them were contested in St. Louis. Crediting the 2020 COVID series to the homes of the competitors, the Houston Astros’ and Los Angeles Dodgers’ stadiums have hosted more World Series in that time (four and five, respectively), with four other stadiums also having hosted three.
