Inside St. Louis Cardinals' $580,000,000 Busch Stadium, America's heartbeat, inspired by world’s first steel-truss bridge

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the oldest teams in baseball and have a proud history, boasting 11 World Series wins. This is the most among NL teams and second in the MLB behind the New York Yankees, who have 27.

The Cardinals are no strangers to dynasties, having won multiple World Series across different decades. Their most successful period came in the 1940s, winning the World Series in 1942, 1944 and 1946, while their most recent title came in 2013.

This is a franchise that has seen a lot of change in its 143-year history, after being founded in 1881 as the St. Louis Browns. Now playing in their fourth stadium, let's take a deeper look at where the Cardinals play.

Busch Stadium opened on April 4, 2006, and has a capacity of 44,383, which ranks in the top 10 in the MLB. Anheuser-Busch purchased the naming rights for the stadium in 2004, which being the third stadium to bear the name in St. Louis, has become an iconic part of baseball history.

The stadium cost $344.8 million to build and is valued at $580 by Forbes today. One of the key features is a bridge, which is a nod to Eads Bridge, St. Louis, which is considered an engineering marvel as the world's first steel-truss bridge, dating back to 1871.

Truly a hallowed site in baseball lore, there have been some iconic moments at Busch Stadium, which also hosted the MLB All-Star Game in 2009.

The stadium hosts a variety of events, such as concerts, and other sports have also played there. This includes games of soccer, college football and an outdoor hockey game featuring the NHL's St. Louis Blues vs. Chicago Blackhawks.

2024 expectations for the St. Louis Cardinals

With the franchise's last World Series win coming over a decade ago, there are concerns that the team is being left behind by its rivals. The lack of a salary cap in the MLB is a real issue for smaller-market teams, which St. Louis is sometimes argued to be a part of.

Given their history, this seems a disrespectful tag, but the Cardinals are being outspent by teams like the New York Yankees, New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Looking at their recent history, St. Louis went 71-91 in 2023, which put them bottom of the NL Central. This was the first time the franchise had missed the playoffs since 2018, and while the only way from the bottom is up, there are concerns that this team is a long way off from competing in the playoffs.

Fans are expecting a better season than in 2023, but the postseason looks unlikely.