Season Ticket Holder Opening Day Release APRIL 13, 2015 – OPENING DAY IN ST. LOUIS Tradition Meets Today for Season Ticket Holders at Opening Day 2015 ST. LOUIS – April 9, 2015 – A pre-game ceremony that welcomes home the 2014 National League Central Division Champions, honors the team’s Hall of Famers, and commemorates the great tradition of Opening Day in St. Louis will punctuate a day of activities celebrating the annual return of baseball to St. Louis on Monday, April 13th. The Cardinals will take on the Milwaukee Brewers in a 3:15 p.m. game. Following is a schedule of official activities and information to help Season Ticket Holders enjoy the great tradition that is Opening Day in St. Louis (#OpeningDaySTL). Opening Day in St. Louis 2015 – Tradition Meets Today Tradition Meets Today - It is the theme of the 2015 season and the focus of the home opener this year. No one day better embodies the rich tradition of the St. Louis Cardinals than Opening Day at Busch Stadium. Despite the fact that the Cardinals are celebrating their 124th season of play in the National League, there is always something fresh and new about the home opener. In a city where baseball is a religion and the fan passion is extraordinary, the story of Opening Day is told more effectively through poetry than prose. Opening Day in St. Louis is a day where generations of fans from all walks of life and different corners of the community come together in fellowship to celebrate their deep connection with the team and with one another. The tradition is passed on from year to year, from teammate to teammate, and from fan to fan. The tradition is also refreshed and renewed each spring. For many fans, Opening Day in St. Louis is a long-standing tradition they celebrate annually. For others, a new tradition will be born on Monday in St. Louis. Regardless of how a fan shares the Opening Day experience, what gate they enter, seat or standing room spot they occupy, or how they choose to share the experience (in park, at Ballpark Village, online, on social media, with the At Bat 15 app, on TV, via radio etc.), all Cardinals fans are part of the important tradition that embodies the hope, joy and shared purpose that a new season of baseball brings. It doesn’t matter if you are a child attending your first game or a Hall of Famer celebrating 70 seasons in baseball, Opening Day is sure to give you goosebumps. This Monday, Opening Day in St. Louis is where Tradition Meets Today. Schedule 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Cardinals Official Opening Day Pre-Game Pep Rally, sponsored by Hardee’s: The Cardinals, Ballpark Village and Hardee’s will host a pre-game pep rally in the Ballpark Village parking lot. Fan favorite, DJ Todd Thomas will perform from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fredbird and Team Fredbird will be on hand to give away Opening Day tickets, autographed items and other Cardinals prizes. Fans can purchase a Hardee’s Combo Meal after regular breakfast hours from the Mobile Diner or Hardee’s restaurant on Chestnut and receive a free Cardinals t-shirt while supplies last. Other sponsors include: Budweiser, FOX Sports Midwest, Goodwill, The Muny, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Office Essentials and The Tan Company. Fans can get their picture with a single Budweiser Clydesdale (weather permitting). 1:15 p.m. Gates open Budweiser Magnet Schedule Day: All ticketed-fans, ages 21 and over, will receive a magnet with the 2015 Cardinals schedule, compliments of Budweiser Beer. 2:30 p.m. Pre-game ceremonies begin with an appearance by the famed Budweiser Clydesdales. Introduction of St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger, St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay, and Missouri Governor Jay Nixon Introduction of Fredbird and Team Fredbird Hall of Famers will be introduced via a Ford Motorcade, led around the warning track. Each Hall of Famer will be riding in a 2015 Ford Mustang Convertible. Tradition Meets Today Video Introduction of three members of the 2014 Class of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame from the dugout (Jim Edmonds, Willie McGee and Mike Shannon) Introduction of the 2015 St. Louis Cardinals via Ford Motorcade. The players will ride in 2015 Ford F-150s. Season Ticket Holder Opening Day Release Introduction of the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals lineups Color Guard and American Flag in Center Field, courtesy of the service men and women of Ft. Leonard Wood American Bald Eagle, courtesy of the World Bird Sanctuary of St. Louis Tribute to Oscar Taveras and moment of silence for Bryan Burwell and Oscar Taveras The National Anthem will be performed by Retired U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class Generald Wilson Ceremonial First Pitch by Willie McGee to Ozzie Smith 3:15 p.m. Game Time Watching on TV Fans can watch the game and pre-game ceremony in High Definition on FOX Sports Midwest. Radio Coverage Fans can tune into KMOX (1120 AM) or one of the 140 Stations in the Cardinals Radio Network to hear Mike Shannon and John Rooney call the game. The expanded pre-game show starts at 1:40 p.m. Online or On the Go Fans may also follow the game for free on cardinals.com using the Gameday application, or via the team’s Twitter account, @Cardinals. From mobile devices, fans can keep tabs on the score using MLB’s mobile app, At Bat 15. Getting to the Game MoDOT will not have any scheduled lane closures on state highways inside the city limits for Opening Day. There have been several changes to roadways around the downtown area – most importantly on Memorial. Drivers should pay attention to the roadways, as roads they are familiar with may have changed. Since the ramp from the Poplar Street Bridge to eastbound I-44 (formerly westbound I-70) is closed for reconstruction, Illinois drivers should use the ramp to 9th Street. From northbound I-55, drivers can continue on eastbound I-44 to Walnut or to Washington. From eastbound I-70, drivers can take the Tucker ramp into the city, or stay on westbound I-44 and exit at Broadway. Illinois drivers can now also use the new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge to get into downtown. When they get off the bridge, they can follow Tucker into the downtown area. As usual, Clark Street will be closed in between the stadium and Ballpark Village. Alternative Transportation MetroLink is a convenient alternative to driving. To avoid the traffic congestion and the cost of parking on game day, fans can use one of 19 free Park-Ride lots along the MetroLink line and take the train to Stadium Station, right across the street from the ballpark. Check the Metro website, MetroSt.Louis.org, for schedules and the Park-Ride lot nearest you. There are also plenty of buses in Missouri and Illinois that will get fans to Busch Stadium including the RedBird Express that departs from the Water Tower at St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights, Illinois. The first RedBird Express leaves 2 ½ hours before the game and runs approximately every 5 minutes. On Opening Day, the RedBird Express will start running at noon. Ballpark Improvements As the Cardinals begin their tenth season of play in Busch Stadium, the team has made a number of improvements to the stadium during the offseason, including a major expansion of the UMB Champions Club, as well as a variety of other upgrades and maintenance projects throughout the ballpark. The UMB Champions Club, one of the most sought after, all-inclusive, luxury VIP fan experiences within the ballpark has undergone a 1,000 square foot expansion, including the installation of 87 new seats. The club was expanded to the south over the Musial Bridge as well as to the north toward the Budweiser Bow Tie Bar. The Gate 5 area of the ballpark was reconfigured to improve the pedestrian flow within the ballpark and fan access to the park. The gates were moved 12 feet north toward Clark Street. These improvements have also improved the site lines from the AT&T Rooftop and other spots within Cardinals Nation in Ballpark Village. A new retail store has been added in centerfield featuring hats from New Era, 47 Brand and American Needle, and an embroidery machine to create custom hats. The store is located in Ford Plaza at the entrance to the Family Pavilion. One of the biggest changes fans will note this season is the installation of walk-through metal detectors at all of the gates and stadium entrances as part of Major League Baseball’s implementation of mandatory metal detection screening of all guests at all MLB ballparks in 2015. For more than a decade, the Cardinals have conducted systematic screening of fans with handheld metal detectors. In order to ensure effective screening of all guests who enter the park with minimal inconvenience or delay, the Cardinals have installed walk-through magnetometers at all gates and increased event staffing by twenty percent. Season Ticket Holder Opening Day Release Additional upgrades and improvements include: Extensive painting of all of the exposed structural steel around the ballpark New televisions have been installed in various sections of the ballpark. The installation of new backstop netting behind home plate More directional signage has been installed to assist fans navigating the ballpark. The re-numbering of all bleacher seat sections from 500 sections to 100 sections to better reflect that the bleachers are located on the first level of the ballpark (101,103,105,107, 109, 111, 189, 191, 193, 195, 197).