Cardinals help prepare Busch Stadium for Winter Classic

ST. LOUIS — The transformation started on Dec. 15, shortly after a truck carrying a 53-foot, 300-ton capacity refrigeration unit turned onto Clark Street, approaching Busch Stadium. It stopped for a short photo op, during which Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III and St. Louis Blues majority owner Tom Stillman emerged from the cab, donned Winter Classic stocking caps and talked glowingly about one of the most anticipated events to come to St. Louis in recent memory.

And then, after the media dispersed and another seven trucks loaded with equipment parked at Busch Stadium, it was time to get to work.

Ninety-one days before Busch Stadium hosts a nationally-televised season opener between the Cubs and Cardinals, it will serve as the backdrop for one of the NHL’s marquee events. After years of prodding Stillman to push St. Louis’ candidacy for an outdoor game, DeWitt learned in 2015 that Busch Stadium was on the short list.

Now, its time in the spotlight is near. Next Monday, with Busch Stadium packed to capacity, the Blues and Chicago Blackhawks will meet in the NHL’s ninth Winter Classic (noon CT).

“I think fans already know that we can do just about anything here, whether it’s a big concert, soccer, football, special events,” DeWitt said of Busch Stadium, which opened in 2006. “And now to have hockey on that list is pretty amazing. I think for us it’s also just exciting to combine the symbolism of the Cardinals and the Blues, and also the city of St. Louis. Busch Stadium has the great city views of the arch and the skyline and bringing that all together is, I think, why St. Louisans are excited.”

It’s an especially exciting event for DeWitt, who began playing hockey in prep school and still takes to the ice as part of a men’s team in St. Louis. His father, Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr., was once a shareholder with …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com