The Big One: Major League maintenance

July 14, 2023 - By Christina Herrick

Company: Focal Pointe Outdoor Solutions

Location: St. Louis, Mo.

To say this is a high-profile property for Focal Pointe Outdoor Solutions would be an understatement. Busch Stadium is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals. The company manages the property year-round as the stadium hosts other events throughout the baseball offseason.

The current stadium opened in 2006, and Focal Pointe’s relationship with the Cardinals extends further back. The company also briefly maintained the team’s previous stadium, says JD Gregson, Focal Pointe’s marketing manager.

The property’s challenges include microclimates. For example, one side of the stadium gets more sun, and one side gets more wind, Gregson says. A nearby interstate also impacts air quality.

There are also high-profile areas of the property including the outfield wall and Stan Musial statue, where fans and sports reporters flock.

“Whenever there’s a home run or ball in the outfield, the Focal Pointe team is looking at the outfield wall to make sure it looks good,” he says. “There’s plant material on top of the walls, causing any home runs to put our work on full display.”

Focal Pointe’s account manager for the stadium, Craig Spihlman, selects hardy plant material for the high-traffic areas and microclimates. With the unpredictability of Mother Nature, crews servicing Busch Stadium need to be flexible and in constant communication with the stadium’s facilities team, Gregson says.

“We’re constantly working with them and communicating with them to figure out the plan as far ahead as we can and then be ready to change it whenever we need to,” he says.

Focal Pointe Outdoor Solutions won a silver award from the 2022 National Association of Landscape Professionals’ Awards of Excellence program for this project.

(Photo: Focal Pointe Outdoor Solutions)

Busch Stadium is home to the 11-time World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals consistently draw more than 3 million fans a year.

(Photo: Focal Pointe Outdoor Solutions)

The right-field gate features long flower beds that line the sidewalk outside of the stadium. Red tulips and white daffodils reflect the team colors. Focal Pointe selects different bulb varieties every year to be in peak bloom for the team’s home opener.

(Photo: Focal Pointe Outdoor Solutions)

The third base gate is one of the team’s most popular entrances to the stadium. The team at Focal Point selects plant material suitable for a high-traffic area.