Busch Memorial Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium , also known as Busch Stadium , was a multi - purpose sports facility in St . Louis , Missouri that operated from 1966 to 2005 . The stadium served as the home of the St . Louis Cardinals National League baseball team for its entire operating existence , while also serving as home to the National Football League ' s Cardinals team from 1966 to 1987 . It opened four days after the last baseball game was played in Sportsman ' s Park ( which had also been known since 1953 as Busch Stadium ) . Similar in style to other multi - purpose sports stadiums built during the same time period , it was sometimes referred to as a " Cookie cutter " - style stadium . The stadium was designed by Sverdrup & Parcel and built by Grün & Bilfinger . Edward Durrell Stone designed the park ' s most enduring feature , the roof ' s 96 - arch " Crown of Arches , " The Crown echoed the iconic Gateway Arch , which was completed only a year before Busch Stadium officially opened . It was one of the first multipurpose facilities built in the United States from the early 1960s through the early 1980s , along with those in Washington , New York , Houston , Atlanta , Pittsburgh , San Diego , Cincinnati , Philadelphia , Minneapolis and some others . The original design of the stadium had called for a baseball - only format , but the design was altered to accommodate football , a fact which arguably shortened its existence . The stadium was demolished by wrecking ball in late 2005 , and part of its former footprint is used by its replacement stadium , the new Busch Stadium . History . The baseball Cardinals had been looking for a stadium of their own as early as the 1940s . Although they had been the tenants of the St . Louis Browns at Sportsman ' s Park since , they had long since passed the Browns as St . Louis ' favorite team . After several false starts and the demolition of Chinatown , St . Louis for space for the stadium , ground was finally broken in May 1964 . When it opened it was known as Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium ( though the " Civic Center " was almost never used in the media ) until New Year ' s Day 1982 , when it became just Busch Stadium . The stadium ' s name came from the Busch family of Anheuser - Busch , who owned the baseball team until March 1996 and championed the stadium ' s construction . The grounds were home to bronze statues of Stan Musial , Enos Slaughter , Dizzy Dean , Rogers Hornsby , Red Schoendienst , Lou Brock , Bob Gibson , James ' Cool Papa Bell , George Sisler , Jack Buck and most recently , Ozzie Smith . The stadium ' s playing surface , originally natural grass , was replaced with Astroturf in 1970 because St . Louis ' typically hot summers made it difficult to keep the grass alive . Originally , the Cardinals continued to use a full dirt infield , but replaced it with an all - Astroturf infield ( except for sliding pits around the bases ) in 1976 . By the early 1990s , the stadium appeared to be falling into disrepair . Following Busch ' s last 1995 event ( the Rams ' last home game prior to the opening of the now - Edward Jones Dome ) , the Cardinals began a massive project to retrofit it into a baseball - only stadium . A large section of the upper deck outfield seats was closed . In its place , a hand - operated scoreboard and several flags commemorating the Cardinals ' retired numbers were installed . The stadium ' s AstroTurf field was torn up and replaced with natural grass , and the outfield walls were repainted green from their original blue . Football . Busch Stadium was the home of the St . Louis Cardinals of the National Football League , beginning with that team ' s 1966 season . They remained there through the 1987 season . However , the stadium was one of the smaller facilities in the NFL , never seating more than 60 , 000 . After efforts to get a larger stadium failed , owner Bill Bidwill moved the team to Phoenix , Arizona after the 1987 season . Busch Stadium was also briefly the home of the St . Louis Rams , who relocated from Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim , California , to move into the new and nearby Trans World Dome , later renamed the Edward Jones Dome . Since construction on their new home was delayed , the Rams played their first four 1995 games at Busch Stadium . The stadium never hosted a playoff game during the Cardinals ' 28 - year run in St . Louis . The " Gridbirds " made only three playoff appearances during that stretch , losing at the Minnesota Vikings in 1974 , Los Angeles Rams in 1975 and Green Bay Packers in 1982 . Baseball . In its opening year , Busch Stadium hosted the 1966 All - Star Game , a 2 - 1 National League victory in 10 innings most notable for being played in humid temperatures . The stadium hosted World Series games in six different seasons : , , , , , and . The Cardinals won the World Series in 1967 and 1982 while playing in the stadium ( the 1982 World Series was won at the stadium ) . The 1968 and 2004 World Series were clinched in Busch Stadium as well by the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox respectively . The stadium was also the site of Mark McGwire ' s historic 62nd home run of the 1998 season that broke Roger Maris ' single - season record , and also of McGwire ' s 70th of that season , for a record which lasted until Barry Bonds surpassed it in 2001 . The dimensions in center and the power alleys had been altered from time to time over the years . Initially the park was very favorable to pitchers , with spacious outfield dimensions . Consequently , its design ( as well as the Astroturf surface ) was favorable to the Cardinals ' style of play for most of the time from the 1960s through the 1990s , which emphasized good baserunning and extra - base hits . Later changes attempted to make the outfield better balanced between pitching and power hitting . Concerts . The Beatles performed at the stadium during their final North American Tour on August 21 , 1966 . Super Jam 76 was held at Busch Stadium - acts included Jeff Beck , Ted Nugent , Jefferson Starship and Fleetwood Mac The Rolling Stones performed at the stadium during their Steel Wheels Tour on September 17 , 1989 . U2 performed at the stadium during their Zoo TV Tour on September 20 , 1992 . Paul McCartney performed at the stadium during The New World Tour on April 29 , 1993 . This was his first performance at the stadium since The Beatles ' final tour in 1966 . Demolition . Busch Memorial Stadium was originally slated to be imploded like most modern - day stadium demolition s to be able to finish construction on the new stadium in time for the 2006 season . However , due to fear of damaging the nearby Metro subway rail line and stadium station , it was decided to tear down the stadium with a wrecking ball piece - by - piece over a period of a few weeks . Demolition of the stadium began at 3 : 07 Central Standard Time on November 7 , 2005 . Current use and plans for site . Part of the footprint of the old stadium is now occupied by the outfield of the current stadium . The Cardinals had planned to build Ballpark Village on the site of the stadium ( $ 320 million for the first phase ) . It was to consist of boutiques and restaurants , condominium apartments anchored by the new headquarters of Centene Corporation - - all to be built in time for the 2009 Major League Baseball All - Star Game . None of the construction has occurred and locals derisively refer to its rain soaked unfinished status as " Lake Dewitt " - - after Cardinal President William DeWitt , Jr . The Cardinals in March 2009 announced the site would be used for a softball field and parking during the game . In popular culture . Because the stadium was an iconic symbol of St . Louis , it was seen in many films set in St . Louis .