Ballpark Village adds wow factor to downtown St. Louis

www.countondowntown.com
http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com

People looking for a fun way to spend an evening or game day will likely love the new Ballpark Village entertainment district opening soon in downtown St. Louis.

The restaurant, bar and entertainment district was supposed to follow the opening of Busch Stadium in 2006. But, the 2008 recession slowed development…until now.

Ballpark Village will be home to Fox Sports Midwest Live sports bar and restaurant, Budweiser Brew House, PBR country bar, Howl at the Moon, and the Cardinals Nation sports bar and restaurant. The latter will also be home to the new Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum.

 

www.countondowntown.com
http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com

Lisa and I were privileged to receive a hard hat tour of Ballpark Village during our recent trip to St. Louis.

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It’s amazing that in about a month they will transform it from brick and mortar to actual restaurants, bars and tourist attractions.

The goal is to have Ballpark Village opened for business by the end of March. Opening day for the St. Louis Cardinals is April 2nd, with the home opener April 7th.

While the Cardinals’ home games will be a major draw for the entertainment area, Ballpark managers plan to have the facility packed on a regular basis.

Fox Sports Midwest Live will be a major draw for any sports fan. The sports bar/restaurant is going to be home to a 40-foot flat screen TV. Yep, I said 40 feet. We saw the cut out for it in the wall. It is going to be huge! Four 90-inch TV screens will sit on each of it. They looked like 19 inch screens sitting there.

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The restaurant will have 42- or 46-inch screens lining the lower walls.

A runner board will showcase scores and information just below the second floor balcony. It’s going to be a high class-looking sports establishment.

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Just off the Fox Sports eatery will be Budweiser’s Brew House. The two-floor establishment will feature, of course, Anheuser-Busch refreshments. The first floor will offer eats and drinks.

An awesome looking piece of art will stand behind the bar on both floors. Anheuser-Busch had an artist use 1,000 empty beer bottles to create décor.

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The second floor will have a more night club feel to it, with leather added to the booths. A stage is also located on the second floor.

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Atop the stage will be the Budweiser crown decal.

On the second floor, the concourse will open to Fox Sports Midwest Live.

Behind the concourse will be the Brew House, PBR bar and Howl at the Moon.

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PBR will feature country music. Since it’s named after the Pro Bull Riders circuit, the bar will feature a mechanical bull.

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com
http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com

 PBR will also feature “The Barn.” It’s a small concert venue that looks like a barn interior. The stage show will feature up and coming country singers.

Next door will be Howl at the Moon. It’s a dueling piano bar. We’ve been to a similar dueling piano bar before that was at Laclede’s Landing, as well as other cities. The performers are amazing! They take requests and will sing almost every song put before them. It gets to be pretty rockin’ inside.

Fox Sports Midwest will have its studio on the second level. The anchor’s back drop will be Busch Stadium. It’s going to be cool to watch.

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The establishment I am most excited about visiting is Cardinal Nation.

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The sports bar/restaurant will take up three floors.

The first floor will be located just off the Fox Sports Midwest bar. The first and second floors will feature the restaurant and bar.

The second floor will also have a party room for groups. It will also feature the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum.

As you walk down the hallway of the Hall of Fame, you’ll see pictures and memorabilia of the greatest players in St. Louis lore.

Then, you enter the Cardinals’ baseball museum. The Museum will take up to the third floor. The museum will feature items from the very first St. Louis Cardinals baseball team to current exhibits.

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The third level balcony will feature a breathtaking view of the St. Louis skyline. Lisa and I were both taken aback by seeing a new view the Old Courthouse sitting against the modern skyline.

The coolest thing about the third level? Rooftop seating. People can actually buy tickets for the seats that adorn the “rooftop” of the Ballpark Village. Chicago may have its rooftop seats across from Wrigley, but the Cards hope to have their fans see another World Series team from that level (sorry, Cubbies).

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Lisa tried to choose her own seat. We had to stop her before she wrote her name in permanent marker. LOL.

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Long-time Cardinal fans will get to step back in history on the ball diamond. The old Busch Stadium’s infield is being resurrected. The infield will be rebuilt. It will be ringed by a concourse with food booths available and a video board where games can be shown.

While the construction crew works to complete the work and be ready to open at the end of March, last-second changes are always possible. In fact, Lisa thought she might make a minor change to the plans.

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This is the first phase in what eventually planners hope to have retail, office and living space.

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In the meantime, when in St. Louis, hit the old Ballpark and have a great time. I know we are excited about seeing the finished project on our next trip to St. Louis.

For more information, check out their website at http://www.stlballparkvillage.com/
Disclaimer: Thanks to the Cordish Companies for arranging the hard hat tour. All opinions and views are ours.