For almost two decades, Busch Stadium has been one of baseball’s most reliable sellouts. The St. Louis Cardinals fans have shown up no matter what, rain or shine, or whether the team wins or loses. They always came to show their support, but now something has changed, and for the Cardinals, it may feel “alien.”

For the first time since Busch Stadium III opened back in 2006, the Cardinals are staring at an attendance that ranks outside of the top seven in the league. The crowds that once filled around, 40,000 a night, are sinking, and those empty seats are becoming impossible to ignore.

Take the Yankees’ last weekend visit. It should be a marquee event, right? Usually, big teams mean the stadium is packed. But just over 90,000 fans made it through the gates for all three games. So it’s a steep drop from the 133,000 that came in last time the Yanks came to town.

The uncharacteristic quiet ballpark didn’t go unnoticed. Cardinals Vice President for Ticket Sales Joe Strohm told the Post-Dispatch, “At the end of the day, it’s not where we want to be, so there’s work — there is work there to be done. That’s the one thing: Fans have a right to voice their pleasure or displeasure, and we know there is work to get people back. We have to earn them back. That’s the entertainment industry. You’ve got to earn people’s discretionary income.”

But is this surprising? The St. Louis Cardinals are a fallen team standing at 61-64 and are essentially on the outs when it comes to the postseason run, after the Yankees swept them. They are also giving games out in the NL Wild Card case, so this season is a lost cause for them. This is the third consecutive time they would be missing October glory. So the lack of attendance is not surprising, is it?

Moreover, even the baseball or ticket gods don’t seem to be on their side. For example, the club had planned a fun batting practice with gold baseball giveaways. But a storm washed out the plan. Players did try to save the day by tossing the prize to the crowd, but it felt like yet another metaphor for the season—rained down. The front office knows that they need to change, and the discounts are on the table. New payment plans have been made available to make these tickets more accessible.

But Strohm’s comment makes it clear that these gimmicks won’t solve the root cause of the issue. Fans lack belief in this team, and they want to see a roster that’s worth investing in before making it to the stadium. Now, as Chaim Bloom steps in to replace John Mozeliak. The same guy who was fired by Boston back in 2023. Now the work he has will be to reconnect the team to the fanbase again, building trust.

The St. Louis Cardinals could eye a fire sale like the Twins

The St. Louis Cardinals, without a doubt, have been one of baseball’s biggest letdowns over the past few seasons — and all this after making four straight postseason runs from 2019 to 2022. However, now with a new ownership group coming in and Chaim Bloom taking over, there are hopes for the winds of change for the franchise. At least according to Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller.

For Miller, the Cardinals will probably look to trade away three of their most reliable veterans when the offseason comes. The names are Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, and Nolan Arenado. Now all these three are on expediting contracts, which makes them natural candidates for a team that wants to hit the reset button quite essentially. “The Cardinals are turning over a new leaf with their transition from John Mozeliak to Chaim Bloom calling the shots, and they want to clear the deck and start over fresh with eyes on the future instead of these expensive relics from the past,” Miller mentioned. But there is a catch here, too.

It seems each of the three players mentioned above has a full no-trade clause. That fact does complicate things, though Miller feels that it is possible that the players themselves would be willing to go to a legitimate team rather than stay in St. Louis. The team, meanwhile, could free up more than $100 million by moving them. Arenado last season used his no-trade clause to block his move to the Astros. For Gray and Contreras, it depends on whether they can be persuaded. For now, the Cardinals seem ready to go for a rebuild, even if that involves saying goodbye to their biggest stars.

Whether Bloom attempts one blockbuster package deal or explores individual trades, the message seems clear: the Cardinals are ready to rebuild, even if it means saying goodbye to some of their biggest names.