I was very happy when I was surfing the Cardinals’ website the other day and noticed an advertisement for the Stan Musial Plaza Brick Paver Program.
The Cardinals are selling personalized engraved bricks again, a program that began in 2005 while the new Busch Stadium was being built.
This time, however, the bricks won’t be randomly placed in areas around the stadium. The Cardinals announced that they are going to renovate and rename the area around the popular Stan Musial statue the Stan Musial Plaza. They will sell 3,630 bricks-one for each of Stan Musial’s career hits, which will be placed in this new shrine to Stan the Man.
When this program was first introduced, the thought of buying a brick was appealing to many. Someone could leave a message for the entire Cardinal Nation to read as fans pass around the stadium on game days and show their message off to friends or family.
It will, after all, be there as long as the stadium is. And because the building is not going anywhere, it will be possible for a young person to buy one now and return years later with his or her children and show off how dad’s or mom’s name or message is a permanent part of Busch Stadium.
If you didn’t buy a brick the first time around for whatever reason, this is your chance to buy one now. Perhaps they stopped selling them after you decided you wanted one, or you weren’t sure what it would look like. I’m sorry to say that if you held out the first time because of the price, you probably won’t be getting one this time, either. ?
The old price range of a brick varied between $155 to $360, depending on the size, material and possible logo. Now the range is from $225 to $1,500. ?Along with the brick at Busch Stadium, you’re also paying for a replica brick to display at home.
People bought approximately 18,000 bricks the first time and put all types of different messages on them, each one unique. Some messages spoke of family: “In dedication to our father Richard McNoy with love Alexandra/Mia and Anna,”
Others spoke of memories: “The day I married my best friend 10/22/2005 Brigit & Blake Johnson”
Another interesting brick is “Baseball is our faith this is our church Matt & Danny Werner.”
Buying a brick with your name and message on it is like adding a part of yourself to the construction of the new stadium. It will have been part of its construction, and it will someday go down when the stadium does. Until then, it will be there for you and everyone else to admire.
This is why I am going to have a brick in the new Stan Musial Plaza. I am 19 years old, and 60 years from now, when I have grandkids to take to Cardinal games, they will see the brick that their great-grandparents bought for their grandpa for his 19th birthday way back in 2007.
When this new renovation is completed (by the beginning of the 2009 season), look for my brick. It’s the one that says “Cards fan 4ever, thanks mom&dad, Max Vosburgh.”
