Mission Taco, ‘Emo Night’ & lots of giveaways, Cardinals find new ways to bring fans to the ballpark

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - While plenty of Cardinal fans come to Busch Stadium to see St. Louis win, those folks want to have a good time as well.

The team is hopeful new giveaways, theme nights, and even new food options can lure fans into the ballpark this season.

While fans walk around Busch Stadium this year, they’re likely to run into some familiar food options that they’re not used to seeing in the ballpark.

That includes Mission Taco Joint.

“Me and my brothers are from St. Louis, and what’s more St. Louis than the Cardinals, Busch Stadium?” said Jason Tilford, Co-founder of Mission Taco.

Their menu includes their highest-selling taco, the mango shrimp taco. Plus, a brand new ‘Hot Corner’ chicken taco, a take on buffalo chicken, that will be exclusively sold at Cardinals games.

“It’s a small menu, we’ll grow into some more tacos down the road, but they warned us to start small, especially opening day,” said Tilford.

That’s not the only premium food option. ‘Big Chicken,’ which sells, not surprisingly, big fried chicken sandwiches, is also new in 2023.

“It’s a five-ounce chicken breast, so it’s not just a clever name. We are ‘Big Chicken,” said Matthew Piekarski, co-founder of Big Chicken.

This includes a chicken sandwich with a glazed red donut as a bun, courtesy of St. Louis-based Vincent Van Doughnut.

But if you’re not that ambitious of an eater, you can also eat Freddy’s steak burgers at the ballgame this season. They’ll also sell fries and cheese curds.

It’s the company’s first venture into major professional sports believing St. Louis is a great market to start in.

“At Freddy’s, we enjoy doing non-traditional locations,” said Andrew Thengvall, Chief Development Officer at Freddy’s.

There’s also a treasure trove of giveaways this year, including hats, bobbleheads and Yeti cups.

As well as a bunch of new theme nights this year, including, ‘Emo night.’ So you can expect My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy to be blaring from the stadium speakers for that game in August.

“So if you were an emo music fan back in the 2000′s, that is one you don’t want to miss,” said Bethany White, manager of theme tickets. Other theme nights include ‘Pride Night,’ ‘Blues Night,’ and ‘St. Louis CITY SC Night.’

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