Cardinals season ticket prices hold firm for '04

ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals announced Friday they will leave season-ticket prices unchanged for the 2004 season despite losing an estimated $10 million this year.

After winning three consecutive NL Central titles, the Cardinals finished in third place and drew less than 3 million fans for the first time in six years.

The Cardinals' season-ticket base fell by about 5 percent last year, when the team raised prices by an average of $2.85. It still had a little more than 19,000 season-ticket-holders, but the drop could be seen in early attendance figures, which fell for the third straight season.

Attendance totaled 2,910,366, down from 3,011,216 in 2002.

Tickets range from $40 per game for field box seats immediately behind both dugouts and home plate to $9 per game for upper terrace seats in the farthest reaches of Busch Stadium. Season tickets go on sale Nov. 10.

The club has not yet determined its price structure for single-game tickets, which go on sale Feb. 7.

The Cardinals also released their schedule Friday. St. Louis will host Milwaukee in the home opener April 5 and in the final game Oct. 3.

The team's longest road trip will be a 10-game stretch in the final two weeks of the season.

The team then returns home to conclude the season Sept. 30-Oct. 3 against the Brewers.

The Cardinals have two homestands of 10 games in 11 days, one in mid-June and another from early July leading up to the All-Star Break.

Games in the Cardinals-Cubs rivalry will be finished early in 2004, with none scheduled after July 20. The Cardinals will play 14 of their first 73 games against the NL Central champs.

The schedule also includes interleague home games against Oakland and Seattle, marking the first visits to St. Louis for both teams.

And for the first time since 1998, the Cardinals will not host a series against cross-state rival Kansas City. The teams will play three games at Kansas City June 25-27.