Having been to the old stadium two years ago, I have one question.  What was wrong with the old place????  In all fairness, the temperature at game time was a humid 101 with no breeze.  This may have colored my somewhat jaundiced view of this new build but I don’t think so.  Let’s start with the premise that any new stadium is better than an old stadium.  Restroom facilities, access and egress, traffic flow, etc., are all improved in the new stadiums.  But it stops right there with this one.

I sat in the front row of the second level and had what amounted to an obstructed view seat. How can that be in a new build?   I was on the aisle so that a 15” railing, above the already high lip in front of the seats, obstructed my view of home plate!  Speaking with the gentleman next to me, a season ticket holder, it seems that high railing was all around and was removed after complaints from the fans, except for at the bottom of stairs.

St. Louis has to be in the top three cities for a knowledgeable fan base.  They watch the game and know what’s going on and they ALL WEAR RED.  Gazing over the stands, it is hard to see the empty red seats amid the sea of red T-Shirts.  They love their baseball here and it is truly evident.

It looks like the old sign in center field of the old stadium was preserved and put out in right center here.  A very nice touch.  I would also have to mention the creativity of the organist.  Unobtrusive, but he gave me some chuckles.  Also, unfortunately, the field is symmetrical (also read boring).  Perhaps they were trying to recreate the old place.

The price of concessions is probably the reason for the many ATM’s located throughout the mezzanine.  Gone is the great 9 inning scoreboard showing all games being played, replaced with a plethora of advertisements.  Practically every square foot of wall is covered with some type of commercial venture.  It reminds me of driving down the main drag in San Jose, CA, with a Burger King, McDonalds, Wendy’s. Taco Bell, etc. covering the landscape with electric signs.  It gives the park, at least for me, a feeling of crass commercialism that I haven’t felt in any other park.  For this reason and the fact that the seats are not angled toward the mound as in most of the new builds, I cannot give it a ten.  Due to the fans making the experience pleasant, I’ll give it a nine, but that’s a stretch.