Cardinals' future home proceeds on schedule

ST. LOUIS -- With the foundations of their new stadium slowly taking shape before them, St. Louis Cardinals officials Tuesday said the $345 million successor to Busch Stadium remains on track for completion in early 2006.

And plans, they say, are afoot for a send-off to the Cardinals' longtime home.

Cardinals president Mark Lamping said the planned ballpark still does not have a name, and that no announcement regarding naming rights was imminent.

"We're talking to a number of companies, both local and outside the St. Louis area," Lamping said as steel poles marking the beginnings of freight elevator shafts could be seen sprouting through the earth.

"We hope to have a name before the start of next season," Lamping said, declining to identify any of the companies perhaps seeking naming rights.

Still, the corporate marketing and dealmaking already have begun.

On Tuesday, the Cardinals announced a 10-year contract extension with Coca-Cola, giving the beverage company exclusive pouring rights at the Cardinals' home through 2015.

Speaking at a news conference following a barbecue luncheon for stadium construction workers, Lamping said that one of the surprises encountered during construction was the amount of debris left on the site. He described it as bricks, concrete, and mortar from old buildings, but he said workers had not come across anything of historical interest.

Some local historians noted that the ballpark site lay atop a historically significant area, including the former site of pens that once held slaves. Other historians, and Cardinals officials, contended that anything of historical importance probably had been destroyed by earlier construction.

In other matters Tuesday, Cardinals officials announced the first of several events meant to commemorate Busch Stadium's final years.

The Cardinals Camp Out, scheduled for Sept. 10, gives up to 300 fans the opportunity to camp out on the field for a fee -- using stakeless tents, of course.

That night's Cardinals-Dodgers game will be broadcast on the scoreboard from Los Angeles, followed by movies. The campers wake up to a prepared breakfast the following morning.

Proceeds from that event will go to Cardinals Care -- the team's charity -- and Camp Coca-Cola, a youth leadership camp sponsored by the beverage giant.

Lamping said the Cardinals would do at least one other camp out before the end of 2006.