St. Louis Is Struggling, But Returning Home To Full Busch Stadium May Turn Things Around

The St. Louis Cardinals have lost three straight games and nine of their last ten, but they do have one thing to look forward to: a full Busch Stadium for tonight's opener against the Marlins.

Could fan presence help this team get back into the NL central race? It's possible.

"We are thrilled to soon be fully opening Busch Stadium to our great fans," Cardinals team president Bill DeWitt III said earlier this week. "We have missed the energy and excitement of a full Busch Stadium, and look forward to welcoming everyone back downtown where they can enjoy the many amenities at Ballpark Village while also cheering on our first place Cardinals."

The Cardinals started the season with a 32% capacity, which had about 15,000 fans in the park. The team, however, was able to squeeze in roughly 30,000 by May. And to encourage fans to return to the stands in support of the Cardinals, the team is offering tickets as low as $6 during the summer. A Ballpark Pass subscription service is now selling for just $35 a month. Sweet deal.

There's still a catch

Protocols will continue in the park, even though science has proven they're unnecessary. No bags will be permitted in the ballpark, and mobile-only ticketing and cashless transactions will be in full force starting tonight.

Not many of us liked carrying around cash anyway, but to claim doing so is better for our health would be misguided.

Vaccinated fans aren't required to wear a mask inside the park, so the team can expect their fair share of fakes in St. Louis. You also can eat and drink free of a mask. Might as well hold a pretzel around the park to get security off your back...