Ballpark Village is a mixed-use retail, entertainment, office and residential district being developed in partnership by the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cordish Companies. Spanning seven city blocks on the 10-acre site just north of Busch Stadium, Ballpark Village will be the country's first fully integrated mixed-use development designed to deliver the excitement and energy of the game day experience to a new neighborhood outside the stadium walls.
Live District Active Year Round - Cardinals Nation features seating with views into Stadium
The $100 million first phase of Ballpark Village will include the development of new venue sponsored by Anheuser-Busch that celebrates the brewer's rich history in St. Louis and its global reach, as well as the construction of a three story building housing a world-class Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum and Cardinals-themed restaurant that will feature seating decks with views directly into Busch Stadium. These destination venues will be connected by public event space known as the Live Plaza that promises to be a vibrant gathering space throughout the year, not just during the baseball season.
Stunning rooftop deck to offer prime views into Busch Stadium
The two-story, 20,000 + sq. ft. Budweiser Brew House will provide the opportunity to showcase AB's storied history in St. Louis and the global reach of its brands.
"Our investment in Ballpark Village is the next chapter in a long and storied history between Anheuser-Busch, the Cardinals, and the city of St. Louis," said Luiz Edmond, North American President, Anhueser-Busch InBev. "Not only will Ballpark Village enhance the way St. Louisans enjoy their city, but it will be the first impression many visitors get of downtown. We're proud to help bring this vision to life."
The venue will feature authentic German-inspired cuisine, more than 100 national and international beers on tap, live music on a nightly basis, a lush outdoor beer garden, and a stunning rooftop deck with prime views into Busch Stadium.
"We are excited to have Anheuser-Busch join the Cardinals and the Cordish Companies as an anchor partner in the first phase of Ballpark Village," said Bill DeWitt III, President of the Cardinals. "Anheuser-Busch has always been a great partner of the Cardinals and their commitment to this project will strengthen an already great corporate relationship."
Showcasing the team's history and offering fans a great way to watch the game
The first phase of Ballpark Village will also be anchored by a first-of-its-kind Cardinals venue to be called Cardinals Nation.
Cardinals Nation will total over 30,000 square feet and span three levels. Cardinals Nation will have three parts: a two story restaurant, a Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum, and a 300+ seat roof top deck with spectacular views of the game across Clark Street.
"We are excited to bring our fans a unique venue that will be the envy of all professional sports teams." said Bill DeWitt, III. "Cardinals Nation will give us a way to connect with our fans year round, either in the restaurant, the museum, the Hall of Fame, or the seating deck."
An entertainment destination that will draw people downtown year round
At the heart of Ballpark Village will be a central gathering place and plaza known as the Ballpark Village Live! marketplace Entertainment Plaza. Ballpark Village Live! will feature a world class audio-video presentation including a 40-foot diagonal LED screen above a stage, providing St. Louis sports fans with the best sports viewing experiences in the country and enhancing live events with immersive audio and video.
With several Live! locations across the country from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, these Cordish-developed districts host over 150 events per year on average and attract between 4.5m and 9m visitors annually to the cities in which they operate.
Fastest Growing Country Concept from Toughest Sport on Dirt will be 1st & Only Location in St. Louis
PBR St. Louis will bring an authentic world-class country experience to Ballpark Village. Slated to opens its doors when the first phase of Ballpark Village debuts on Opening Day 2014, PBR St. Louis is one of the hottest country concepts in country from a bull riding sport that bills itself as the toughest sport on dirt.
"PBR is a perfect addition to Ballpark Village," Bill DeWitt, President of the St. Louis Cardinals said. "We are focused on making Ballpark Village the premier entertainment destination for the region and for our fans and PBR will help us accomplish that goal."
This will be the 8th PBR location in the U.S. and it will be the only location in St. Louis.
"PBR wants to be in world-class districts within very special cities and there is no doubt that Ballpark Village in St. Louis fits the bill," said Sean Gleason, Chief Operating Offer of PBR. "PBR is one of the fastest growing, most exciting and popular sports in the country, selling out arenas from Madison Square Garden to Southern California, as well as being nationally televised. Our goal with PBR was to create a concept that captures both the electricity that is PBR as well as the warm camaraderie that exists between our patrons at our events."
The first PBR location opened its doors in 2008 at the Power & Light District in Kansas City, MO and has since launched venues in; Baltimore, MD; Houston, TX; Hampton, VA; Philadelphia, PA; and Louisville, KY making PBR one of the hottest and fastest growing concepts in the country. Each location of PBR features its own unique high-quality design, but with shared attractions including a large dance floor, a soft-seating lounge area, private outdoor balconies, multiple bars, and the world's meanest mechanical bull as a show-piece element to the club. PBR St. Louis takes this design to a new level and promises to be an eclectic combination of "cowboy cool" meets "urban chic," spanning 8,000 square feet.
Additionally, PBR has started a great live music tradition in its Hot Country Night's concert series, with past national acts including Gretchen Wilson, Luke Bryan, The Band Perry, Justin Moore, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean and numerous other all-star country artists. PBR St. Louis will host live performances throughout the year and is powered by a state-of-the-art sound and light system equipped for both live entertainment and dancing nightly. PBR St. Louis will also feature an expansive beer and bourbon list as well as a southwestern inspired food menu.
"The Cordish Companies and the St. Louis Cardinals are committed to bringing best-in-class concepts to Ballpark Village and with PBR we have done just that," said Blake Cordish, Vice President of The Cordish Companies. "We are thrilled to welcome PBR to St. Louis and we are confident that it will be an anchor attraction for years to come."
Laid out along the same lines as the old ballpark's diamond, the Busch 2 Infield will give fans a chance to walk the sacred ground once tread upon by legends. Complemented by food booths and a videoboard, the site will offer a prime gathering space for pregame ceremonies and activities, as well as movie nights and other events when baseball takes a break.
Developers Shoulder Risk While Demonstrating Commitment to Project
In order to get the Ballpark Village underway, the St. Louis Cardinals and The Cordish Companies have made additional financial commitments to the project - including committing to purchase all of the public bonds to ensure the project gets underway.
The $100 million first phase of the project will include the construction of 100,000 sq. feet of retail and entertainment space on two blocks along Clark Street next to Busch Stadium (blocks 200 & 300).
The first phase includes the development of public event space known as the Live Plaza, as well as streets, parking and site infrastructure for the entire 10-acre site. The remaining pad-ready development sites will allow for future phases to be developed more quickly since the basic infrastructure will already be in place.
Seven city blocks on the 10-acre site just north of Busch Stadium that is bounded by 8th Street on the west, Walnut on the north, Broadway on the east and Clark Street on the south.
The development of Ballpark Village is a welcome boost to our local economy that will provide for a significant number of construction jobs, as well as permanent jobs. Over a thousand construction jobs and over 500 permanent jobs are expected to be created as part of the initial phase alone.
The Missouri Downtown Economic Stimulus Act (MODESA) is an economic development incentive program designed to create jobs and facilitate the redevelopment of downtowns.
MODESA empowers the City of St. Louis to allow a developer to reinvest a portion of new tax revenue generated by the project back into the project to pay for certain public related project expenses, such as new streets, sidewalks, sewers and utilities.
MODESA gives the City a way to make the public investments essential for redevelopment without digging into general revenue. The only tax revenue pledged is a portion of those created by the project itself. Since only a portion of the new tax revenue generated by the project is put back into the project, the additional tax revenue passes through to the City, the State, and other public entities such as the City of St. Louis School District and public transit agency Metro.
The construction of Ballpark Village represents the culmination the Cardinals vision for their investment in downtown St. Louis that began with the opening of the new, privately financed $411 Busch Stadium in 2006.
The Cardinals are developing Ballpark Village in partnership with The Cordish Companies.
For generations, the Cordish family has grown The Cordish Companies into one of the world's leading real estate development companies and a diverse group of successful entertainment-operating businesses. Cordish Companies' entertainment and mixed use projects include the Kansas City Power & Light District, Louisville Fourth Street Live, and The Power Plant & Pier IV in Baltimore.
The Live! brand is one of the most successful entertainment district brands in the country - with locations across the country from Los Angeles to Philadelphia annually drawing between 4.5 million to 9 million visitors annually to each city.
