ST. LOUIS – A storied season for the St. Louis Cardinals has been quite profitable for the St. Louis area economy.
Whether it’s Albert Pujols reaching 700 career home runs, Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina setting MLB’s battery record, Paul Goldschmidt flirting with a Triple Crown, the Cardinals accomplished just about as much as anyone could ask in the 2022 regular season. St. Louis capped the campaign with the NL Central Division title and begins postseason on Friday.
“This has been a truly historic season that has brought Cardinal Nation together behind our team and our city, and we will all be cheering with one voice for the Redbirds to bring home championship number 12,” said Jason Hall, CEO of the Greater St. Louis, Inc.
With the 2022 regular season coming to a close Wednesday, a research team from Greater St. Louis, Inc. recently released findings on the economic impacts of the season. Ahead of postseason, the current St. Louis Cardinals campaign generated an estimated economic impact of more than $334.4 million for the St. Louis metropolitan area.
An analysis from GSL estimates the direct economic impact for the 2022 season totaled $156.1 million, which spurred an indirect economic impact of $178.3 million. Attendance from 2022 home games was one factor that heavily influenced that. The Cardinals brought in around 3.3 million fans to games this season, ranking second in all of baseball, while also breaking a single-game record in August against the Yankees.
“The 2022 Cardinals season has already been one for the history books, and tourism pocketbooks with hotel occupancy and revenues in the metro area reaching and often exceeding pre-pandemic levels,” said Brian Hall, Chief Marketing Officer for Explore St. Louis.
The economic impact projections include costs factored into dining, lodging, and shopping in connection with Cardinals games. Research teams projected the season would lead to a $300 million economic impact at the start of the season, a projection exceeded by tens of thousands of dollars.
Come postseason, each home game is expected to generate an estimated impact of $7.6 million per game. A weekend Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend alone could spur $22.8 million in regional economic impact, research teams at Greater St. Louis, Inc. project.
“Cardinals playoff baseball attracts thousands of fans each game from outside the metro area helping support the jobs of some 90,000 St. Louisans employed in the tourism and hospitality industry, making it one of St. Louis’ largest and most vibrant,” said Hall.
The direct, indirect, and total economic impact figures are based on estimates of visitor spending and the economic contribution of the Cardinals and Busch Stadium operations.
Postseason begins Friday as the Cardinals host a best-of-three Wild Card Series against the Phillies. First pitch for Game 1 is set for 1:07 p.m. CT Friday.