FOX Sports Midwest to Build Studio at Ballpark Village
Ballpark Village’s Featured Entertainment Area Will Be Named FOX Sports Midwest Live!
ST. LOUIS –December 13, 2013 – The St. Louis Cardinals and The Cordish Companies announced today that FOX Sports Midwest, the television home of the Cardinals, will build a new studio in Ballpark Village and that the 20,000 sq/ft entertainment marketplace that is the heart of the district will be known as FOX Sports Midwest LIVE! as part of a multi-year naming rights agreement.
“We are very excited to have FOX Sports Midwest as our naming rights partner of LIVE! in Ballpark Village,” said Bill DeWitt III, the President of the St. Louis Cardinals. “FOX Sports Midwest’s involvement will bring tremendous excitement and exposure to Ballpark Village year round.”
FOX Sports Midwest expects to produce more than 300 shows per year at the new studio that will be located on the second level of Ballpark Village, between the Cardinals Nation restaurant and Budweiser Brew House.
“We are proud to help bring Ballpark Village to life with the addition of FOX Sports Midwest Live!,” said FOX Sports Midwest General Manager and Senior Vice President Jack Donovan. “We’re looking forward to moving into our new studio home in Ballpark Village and helping make FOX Sports Midwest Live! the premiere entertainment destination in our region.”
The new FOX Sports Midwest studio will feature a look into Busch Stadium behind the anchor desk. Meanwhile, visitors inside Ballpark Village will be able to watch FOX Sports Midwest’s shows live and cameras inside and around the entertainment district will show the game day atmosphere. The Cardinals Live pregame and postgame shows will air live from the studio for home and road games.
The studio isn’t the only high-tech feature of the two level 20,000 square foot entertainment market place. The FOX Sports Midwest Live! space features a stage for live concerts and performances, a state-of-the-art 40 foot diagonal high definition LED screen, immersive LED ribbon boards that will encircle the two level space, a 200 seat restaurant, VIP seating area and a plush soft-seating bar and lounge for the ultimate watching experience – all of which will sit under a 100 foot long retractable glass roof - one of the largest of its kind in the country.
“This one-of-a kind venue will draw millions of visitors year round as fans gather for sporting events, concerts, festivals, and great meals,” said Chase Martin, Ballpark Village Project Manager. “LIVE! in cities around the country including Baltimore, Philadelphia, Kansas City and L.A. is synonymous with world-class entertainment and we are confident that FOX Sports Midwest LIVE! will take the standard to an entirely new level.”
While FOX Sports Midwest LIVE! will undoubtedly offer St. Louis sports fans with one of the best sports viewing experience in the country, it will also feature a large variety of many other entertaining events drawing people downtown all year round. With several locations across the country from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, these Cordish-developed districts host over 150 events per year on average and attract between 4.5m and 9m visitors annually to the cities in which they operate. Live! events range from concerts, festivals, art shows, and family focused events such as Family Fun Days and Family Movie Nights. Join the conversation with #FSMLive.
Ballpark Village (#BPV)
The construction of Ballpark Village represents the next step in the Cardinals’ vision for their investment in downtown St. Louis that began with the opening of the privately financed, $411 million Busch Stadium in 2006. Ballpark Village is a mixed-use retail, entertainment, office, and residential district being developed in partnership by the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cordish Companies. Spanning seven city blocks on the 10-acre site just north of Busch Stadium, Ballpark Village will be the country’s first fully integrated mixed-use development designed to deliver the excitement and energy of the game day experience to a new neighborhood outside the stadium walls. For more information about Ballpark Village, go to cardinals.com/bpv or www.stlballparkvillage.com.
FOX Sports Midwest
FOX Sports Midwest is entering its 21st season as the television home of the Cardinals. One of the largest and most-watch regional sports television networks in the nation, FOX Sports Midwest telecasts more than 3000 hours of live local programming each year, including Cardinals baseball and St. Louis Blues hockey, and collegiate action from the Missouri Valley Conference, SEC, Big 12, University of Missouri, Saint Louis University and much more. Nationally, FOX Sports Networks are the leading provider of local sports. Through 22 owned-and-operated regional networks, FOX Sports Networks serve as the regional TV home to 46 MLB, NHL and NBA teams. For more information visit FOXSportsMidwest.com.
The Cordish Companies
For generations, the Cordish family has grown The Cordish Companies into one of the world’s leading real estate development companies and a diverse group of successful entertainment-operating businesses. Cordish Companies’ entertainment and mixed-use projects include the Kansas City Power & Light District, Louisville Fourth Street Live, and The Power Plant & Pier IV in Baltimore.