Baseball for the rich
The St. Louis Cardinal owners are beyond wealthy. They are really, really rich.
As a result, the schools their children attend, the events they socialize at and the clubs of which they are members are private and exclusive.
If you don’t have the money and/or the power to be included, that’s tough.
With the new Busch Stadium nearing its debut, you get the feeling that the old Busch was for the baseball fan. The new Busch is for people with money.
The old Busch wanted everyone who called themselves Cardinal fans or baseball fans to be welcome. The new Busch is for those who want to be seen making an entrance more than they want to teach their child how to keep score or catch a foul ball.
KTVI’s Maurice Drummond and the American ’s Alvin A. Reid and Wiley Price were part of an excellent media tour hosted by Bill DeWitt Jr., last Friday. After viewing the stadium from almost every angle possible, and peeking in on private suites and party rooms, Drummond said, “It just doesn’t seem like it will be as fun.”
“I know it’s too early to say that, but I just get this feeling.”
Drummond is not and will not be alone.
Said Reid, “The big-screen plasma TVs in the suites are great, but it makes me wonder how much a hot dog will cost.”
In the mad rush to get tickets, how many families who attended games for decades on end got shut out?
More importantly, do the owners of the team care?
Busch Stadium belongs to those who built it and they can do with it what they like.
But when walking through the new stadium, you get the feeling you’re touring someone’s new home in an affluent neighborhood and they really don’t want you there if you’re not from that neighborhood.