Mark Lamping Quotations

We think from a public safety stand point we'll get approval to occupy some of those seats but that doesn't mean that all of the rest rooms and concessions will be ready for full occupancy.

I think there are some things that if you're from St. Louis you have an inferiority complex about. We don't have the great residential condominiums of downtown Chicago or we don't have the number of Fortune 500 companies as we used to have. But there are those things we think we do really, really well, like the Cardinals and KMOX and I think we take great pride in those things.

We hope that they very quickly get familiar with the building and explore the ballpark, find their favorite spots. There are a lot of areas in the ballpark which provide great views of the playing field. We certainly encourage our fans to seek those out.

We couldn't be more pleased with the support we've received from our fans. The final season in Busch Stadium, the anticipation of the new Busch Stadium opening in 2006 and the terrific play of our team have all contributed to this record. It's a record that everyone associated with the Cardinals should be proud of -- most importantly, our loyal fans.

We know that St. Louis is a baseball town and the city loves its Cardinals. It wouldn't be right if the fans - the people who support the Cardinals year after year - were not a part of the voting process.

We get more complaints. it's clearly harder dealing with a lack of inventory.

We aren't going to have to do anything extraordinary to keep people from sneaking in.

We want to have one last hurrah at Busch Stadium with the best fans in baseball. The weekend will be filled with heartfelt tributes to the most memorable athletes, coaches, broadcasters and plays that have made Cardinals baseball the tradition that it is today.

What we're trying to do is improve our ability to put the finest baseball team on the field.

We want to give our fans every opportunity to see the new ballpark. The open house will give people a chance to explore the stadium free of charge and, by offering two sessions, we're able to accommodate as many people as possible before the season begins two days later.

We somewhat subscribe to the adage that you don't build the church for Easter Sunday. One of the best experiences is to have a ballpark be as intimate as it can be. We believe there's a connection between intimacy and the number of seats that are occupied.

There will certainly be more security situated in the area under construction. That area apparently wasn't completely secure, but, without going into great detail, appropriate changes have been made.

As far as the portions of the ballpark that are complete, that is complete at a very, very high level. Generally, the parts of the ballpark that still have work to do are those areas where we either do not have seating available or we only have a portion.

This is a special time in the history of the team, our fans, our community and our players.

This game will serve as a 'dress rehearsal' for everyone -- the stadium operations staff, concessionaires, vendors, ushers, grounds crew, broadcasters, umpires, news media and our fans. We want our fans to have the best experience possible when we formally open on April 10 vs. Milwaukee.

It's like when you move into a new house. It's better a month after you move in than it is on the first day.

For nearly seven decades, Bank of America has been a dedicated and active partner of the Cardinals.

I don't think we ever had a point where we didn't believe that the ballpark was going to be ready on Opening Day. The productivity of the workforce was at an incredibly high level, and we were blessed with great weather. We've been running ahead of schedule for quite some time.

The Cardinals have played 39 years of baseball beneath the arches of Busch Stadium and St. Louis has openly embraced the Cardinals spirit every season. We are proud to celebrate that no matter the club's win-loss record or league standing, fans have been treated to a host of memorable plays and moments combined to form the rich history that is Cardinals baseball.