Go nuts as you rally 'round the Redbirds or Brewers
ST. LOUIS -- October 11, 2011-- The Cardinals once again have made it a "Red October" in St. Louis. The Wild Card Redbirds welcome fans heading to town for Games 3, 4 and 5 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. The "beer town" rivals bring heady excitement to Major League Baseball's version of Oktoberfest with games slated for October 12, 13 and 14 at the beautiful Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis.
Whether you've scored coveted NLCS tickets or not, you can still get in on the baseball action and fall events during a St. Louis visit. For information about St. Louis' red hot baseball sites, amazing dining and attraction options and to book a hotel room on-line, click on www.explorestlouis.com or call the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission at 1-800-916-0040.
St. Louis is known as the "Red Sea on the Mississippi" for the thousands of red-clad fans filling the seats during a game. Join the crowd. Participate in a baseball heaven dream trip by visiting some St. Louis major league sites:
1. The St. Louis Cardinals have been making magic on the field in St. Louis since 1892. Squirrel away some Major League history at Busch Stadium as you rally 'round the statues of St. Louis' Hall-of-Fame players that grace the entry to the Team Store at 7th and Clark streets. The action-poised figures include Redbird stars Bob Gibson, Dizzy Dean, Red Schoendienst, Rogers Hornsby, Ozzie Smith, Lou Brock and more. The "meeting place" at the Stan Musial statue is now located at the Third Base entry along 7th Street.
2. St. Louis' baseball greats also are honored along Delmar Boulevard in The Loop neighborhood along the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Brass star-shaped plaques embedded in the sidewalks honor famous St. Louisans who have made their mark in baseball and the arts, science and history. Baseball is duly represented with markers and biographic plaques for Stan Musial, Yogi Berra, Joe Garagiola, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Cool Papa Bell, Dizzy Dean, Rogers Hornsby, Branch Rickey and Red Schoendienst. Honorees also include fabled baseball broadcasters known for their work in St. Louis: Jack Buck, Harry Caray and Bob Costas.
3. Baseball personalities Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola grew up on The Hill on the 5400 block of Elizabeth Avenue and Hall-of-Fame announcer Jack Buck lived there early in his radio career. The block's street sign now bears the name "Hall of Fame Place" in their honor. The Hill is St. Louis' Italian neighborhood that is filled with great Italian eateries, bakery shops, bocce clubs and even fireplugs painted in the Italian tri-color.
4. Make your own Fredbird, the Cardinals' fluffy mascot, at the Build-a-Bear Workshop inside new Busch Stadium. The St. Louis-based company has mini-Fredbirds, special Cardinal teddy bears and other furry friends to make and deck out in Cardinals' uniforms complete with bats, gloves and hats.
5. The Cardinals have been a sensational franchise. Experience a baseball-inspired taste sensation at the "never to be franchised" Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. The iconic refreshment stand on the St. Louis stretch of Route 66 dishes up a Cardinal Sin - creamy vanilla custard topped with tart bing cherries and rich hot fudge. Or, purists may want to create their own Baseball Sundae served in a replica Cardinals baseball cap with the toppings of your choice.
6. With more than a thousand one-of-a-kind restaurants, is there any wonder some dining hot spots serve up a sports theme along with tempting morsels? Just a homerun-length from Busch Stadium, hungry baseball fans can find sustenance amidst baseball memorabilia at Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafood and Al Hrabosky's Ballpark Saloon. Both restaurants are operated by former Cardinals players who now do play-by-play on Cardinals' radio and television broadcasts. West Port Plaza is home to the white-tablecloth Pujols 5. Downtown's Washington Avenue Loft District houses an establishment by Hall-of-Famer Ozzie Smith as well as former Cardinals' outfielder-extraordinaire Jim Edmonds' Fifteen restaurant. Trendy sports-themed dining experiences can be had at the two J. Buck's sites - one in toney Clayton and the other downtown near the ballpark. As the eponymous name implies, the restaurants are owned by the Jack Buck broadcasting clan - sports announcer Joe and his radio personality sister Julie and the name also pays homage to their late father, the great Hall-of-Famer Jack Buck. A fun collection of Cardinals' Mark McGwire and other Cardinals' memorabilia is on display on the pop culture-laden walls of Blueberry Hill in The Loop neighborhood.
7. You can come out on top just like the Cardinals did in the National League Wild Card race with a trip to the top of the magnificent Gateway Arch. Get a bird's-eye view of new Busch Stadium from 630-feet high above the Mighty Mississippi. The Arch, officially named the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, honors President Thomas Jefferson, his dream of a continental United States and the thousands of men and women who helped open the American West. Beneath the Arch, in the Museum of Westward Expansion, the opening of the American West comes alive through displays that tell the story of explorers Lewis & Clark, pioneers, Native Americans and Buffalo Soldiers who shaped America as a nation "from sea to shining sea."
8. There are cards and gaming excitement of a different sort at St. Louis-area casinos. Stake out a spot and meet up with Lady Luck at glitzy Lumiere Place on Laclede's Landing, within the classic riverboat gambler setting of the River City Casino, the Casino Queen and Alton Belle casinos across the Mississippi River in neighboring Illinois or the Missouri River-based gaming palaces at Harrah's in West St. Louis County and Ameristar Casino in St. Charles, Missouri.
9. America's two great beer towns meet on the field at Busch Stadium this week. Take some time before the game for a complimentary tour of the original Anheuser-Busch Brewery. Visitors can see the historic Brew House, the stained glass and brass décor of the Budweiser Clydesdale stables, the beechwood aging cellars and Bevo Packaging Plant. The tour concludes at the Hospitality Room where you can toast the Cardinals as you sample a freshly brewed glass of a product of the brewer's art in the Hospitality Room.
10. Birds of every hue are on view at the world-famous Saint Louis Zoo. Stroll through the World's Fair Flight Cage, the world's largest walk-through aviary, located in the Bird Garden section of the free Zoo. The Flight Cage was the original Smithsonian Institution exhibit at the fabled "Meet Me in St. Louis" World's Fair and has been a favorite spot for bird-watchers ever since.
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