[Back to List View] As seen in Construction Digest on May 24, 2004 PRIDE Hails Ballpark Construction of the new ballpark for the St. Louis Cardinals is under way immediately south of Busch Stadium. St. Louis – While the St. Louis Cardinals’ baseball fans eagerly await the 2006 debut of a new ballpark, the region’s union construction labor-management group is seeking to ensure that it is a model project. PRIDE of St. Louis Inc. is hailing the new $323-million ballpark as a defining moment in the region’s rich building history and its most important project since the completion of the Gateway Arch. “The new ballpark is a landmark project for the region’s economic development,” said Jerry Feldhaus, labor co-chairman, representing the St. Louis Building & Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO. “Not only will it employ 1,100 workers daily, but their skills will be put to the test due to a very tight schedule. National development interests will be monitoring its safety record, craftsmanship, and on-time and on-budget delivery. It must be a model of productivity.” Founded in 1972, PRIDE stands for Productivity and Responsibility Increase Development and Employment and is the nation’s first and oldest voluntary labor management organization. The 46,000-seat facility will ultimately host 1.3 million square feet. It will be completed in phases, with a target opening of 2006. Demolition of Busch Stadium, which opened in 1966, will begin after the 2005 season. While Indianapolis-based Hunt Construction Group is managing the project, more than 50 local construction firms will take part in its creation.