Busch will get wrecking ball Monday

~ Interior demolition has already begun.

ST. LOUIS -- The landscape of downtown St. Louis will change dramatically starting Monday, when a wrecking ball will begin knocking down Busch Stadium.

The St. Louis Cardinals on Friday announced demolition plans for the ballpark that has housed the team since 1966. Starting at 3 p.m. Monday, a 10,000-pound wrecking ball will be used to knock down the southern half of the ballpark over a 60-day period, said Sid Perkins of Hunt Construction Group.

"Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, we will be demolishing the building," Perkins said.

Demolition of the southern half of Busch clears room for completion of the new $400 million stadium. The projected completion date is April 1, in time for the Cardinals' home opener April 10 against Milwaukee. The rest of Busch will be demolished by June 30, Perkins said.

Officials said demolition of the old stadium and construction of the new are right on schedule.

"We are very, very pleased with progress so far," said John Lloyd, a Cardinals official overseeing the construction and demolition projects.

The tearing down of Busch began in piecemeal fashion within hours of the Cardinals' 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series on Oct. 19, the loss that eliminated the Cardinals from the playoffs.

Since then, workers have already removed the seats and bleachers and begun knocking apart concrete inside the ballpark that was home to six National League pennant-winners and two world champions -- in 1967 and 1982.

But for now, the exterior of the stadium looks relatively unchanged except for the metal fencing surrounding it to keep souvenir seekers and gawkers away.

In baseball-mad St. Louis, old Busch's swan song has been a sentimental ride. After the loss to Houston, thousands of fans stayed for well over an hour, many crying and writing their names on the foul poles, the steps, the pillars of the ballpark.

The Cardinals have already sold thousands of seats and other items from the ballpark, and an online auction began Friday for items ranging from Albert Pujols' locker to parts of the foul poles, even an autographed turnstile. Bidding is available at www.stlcardinals.com and www.lelands.com and closes Nov. 23.

Other items are being donated to the Missouri Historical Society for a display expected to open in mid-December and to the Cardinals Museum.

The Cardinals also plan a free-admission farewell event Nov. 26-27 at the America's Center convention center. Former players for both the baseball and football Cardinals will be there, and a "garage sale" is planned for memorabilia from the stadium, some of it -- such as coin-shaped containers of ballpark dirt -- costing as little as $10.

Busch was long considered among a handful of "cookie-cutter" multipurpose stadiums built in the 1960s -- others included Veteran's in Philadelphia, Riverfront in Cincinnati and Three Rivers in Pittsburgh.

But the old ballpark quickly became perhaps the central part of downtown, recognizable for the archways along the top that are a tribute to the towering Gateway Arch a few hundred yards to the northeast.

The Cardinals hope the new stadium will become even more of a focal point. Plans call for development of a "Ballpark Village" of lofts and condos and retail and office space in the area vacated by the old stadium.

Some of the old stadium will stay with the new. The manually operated scoreboard will serve as a wall at the new ballpark. The statues will find new homes, including the Stan Musial statue, which will sit near a decorative bridge.

"Meet me at the Musial statue will still be heard in the new stadium," said Bill DeWitt III, the Cardinals' senior vice president for business development.

"This is a special time in the history of the team, our fans, our community and our players," Cardinals president Mark Lamping said.