Busch Stadium was right near the Mississippi River and the Arch. The new one is in he same spot.
Busch fake field #1.
Busch fake field #2. Better looking, but only infield cutouts.
Busch Stadium had a fake field from about 1970-2000. Here is it back to real grass.
October 17, 1989. I was in St. Louis to interview for the Program Director job at KS94 FM. I had been out there earlier for a meeting at the airport with execs from Gannett Broadcasting – the USA Today people. This time I was there for the weekend and was offered the job. I wound up turning it down because I had a great job as Program Director of Mix 106.5, we were happy in Baltimore and Kathy had no interest in moving to the Midwest.
I had been to four current ballparks at this point (Fenway Park, Boston, Griffith Stadium, Washington DC, Memorial Stadium, Baltimore and The Big A, Anaheim CA) and one former and future ballpark (RFK Stadium, Washington DC), so I made a point of checking out the field. It was set up for soccer at the time. The football Cardinals had moved Arizona and the baseball Cardinals finished in 3rd place behind the Cubs and the Mets and were not in the playoffs. The World Series was underway between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s. During my interview the Loma Prieta Earthquake hit and Candlestick Park was crumbling…as was the double-deck 101 freeway.
Old Busch Stadium was one of five National League concrete donut ballparks built in the late 60s. For soccer the lower grandstand – from the dugouts to the foul poles on each side – would slide down to change the field configuration as you can see above. Busch had grass when the Red Sox played there in the 1967 World Series, but turf was installed in the 70s. It was still fake when I visited in 1989 but back to grass in time for the 2004 World Series. A statue of Stan Musial in front of the main entrance welcomed fans in true Midwest-friendly style. The Red Sox finally got revenge for the losses in 1946 and 1967 when they won the 2004 World Series in a sweep, then beat the Cards again in 2013.