A man was stabbed to death outside Busch Stadium in the early morning hours of Monday, May 4, shortly after a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Let me be very clear, this could have happened anywhere,” St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Mitch McCoy said during a news briefing. “This could have happened anywhere, but what happened tonight was a dispute between two people. Unfortunately, it happened at a treasured St. Louis staple.”
Officers responded to a stabbing around 3 a.m. near the south side of the stadium, where the players park. A 27-year-old man was found dead and a 65-year-old man was taken into custody, according to police.
Preliminary investigations indicate there was a dispute between third-party contractors hired to work the baseball game.
“We are aware of an isolated altercation that occurred between two on-site contracted individuals during the overnight hours on Monday morning,” the Cardinals said in a statement, confirming the victim and suspect did not work directly for the MLB team. “St. Louis Metropolitan Police were dispatched to investigate and our security team is cooperating with the department in its investigation.”
The statement added, “The safety and security of our fans, guests and employees remains our highest priority and we are confident our stadium security measures were in no way compromised last night.”
The Cardinals requested that any additional inquiries about the incident be directed to authorities.
The game between the Cardinals and Dodgers ended at approximately 4:45 p.m. local time. St. Louis hosted the Milwaukee Brewers in the first of a three-game homestand at Busch Stadium on Monday night, which happened without incident.
Los Angeles left town after defeating the Cardinals 4-1 on Sunday night, traveling to Houston where they opened up a three-game series against the Astros with a 8-3 victory.
Police spokesperson McCoy said the stabbing was “heartbreaking when there’s so much work being done in this city to revive downtown and bring people back to downtown and to show them all that our city has to offer.”
The city of St. Louis has committed over $250 million in the past four years in an effort to revitalize the downtown area as part of its Economic Justice Action Plan.
“Combined with over $300M committed towards transportation infrastructure upgrades in St. Louis between 2024 and 2027, these investments are growing a regenerative ecosystem designed to slow and reverse the city’s population loss,” according to the city’s website.
The website adds, “Under Mayor [Cara] Spencer’s leadership, the City’s development agencies recognize that reversing generations of public disinvestment is not just a moral obligation, but an economic imperative. Our city cannot grow as long as half of it is left behind.”
