Raffle winner to implode Busch Stadium

ST. LOUIS -- It sounds like a Chicago Cubs fan's dream come true: a contest with a chance to trigger the implosion that will take down the St. Louis Cardinals' Busch Stadium.

As construction continues on the new Busch Stadium just south of the existing ball park, plans are in the works to demolish the Cardinals' current home. The new red-brick stadium is scheduled to be ready for opening day next year.

The St. Louis Cardinals will begin selling $10 raffle tickets on the team's Web site Friday. The raffle tickets also will be available at home games starting Sept. 6. Proceeds will benefit two charities, the United Way of Greater St. Louis and Cardinals Care, the team's charitable arm.

From the drawing, 250 winners will be invited to a Busch Stadium "Implosion Party" on the morning the stadium will be taken down. That date will be set after the season ends.

Out of those 250, one winner will be picked to trigger the implosion of Busch Stadium. The contractor conducting the stadium implosion, Ahrens Contracting Inc., and the general contractor for the new stadium, Hunt Construction, are cooperating with the raffle.

People can buy as many raffle tickets as they like, but they must be residents of either Missouri or Illinois and age 18 or older.

-- AP