Despite a seemingly annual push to demolish Cardinal Stadium currently, between 1957 and 1999 it was one of the most prolific sports venues in the city.
Called either Cardinal or Fairgrounds Stadium, prior to 1982, the venue hosted University of Louisville football from its opening in 1957 to 1998. During that time the Cards saw a plethora of bowl games and a host of teams and coaches, notably Howard Schnellenberger for one.
Early on in the Cards pigskin run at the venue they were joined by another football team, the Louisville Raiders who played with mixed results in the United Football League between 1960 to 1962.
Despite being known now more as a football stadium, Cardinal Stadium really has a more storied tradition with baseball. Housing the triple- A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, the Louisville Colonels between 1968 and 1972, of course the team that’s currently known as the Bats, the Louisville Redbirds moved in ten years later in 1982.
The Redbirds instantly found success in the venue as the triple-A affiliate to the Cardinals, Brewers, or Reds; depending on the year; they continued their run there until 2000 when they team moved to their current home, Louisville Slugger Field.
Not to mention the fact that Louisville baseball used the stadium as their home until 2005 when they moved to Jim Patterson Stadium.
Sadly, despite the storied tradition of this venue for most of the year Cardinal stadium is empty. Outside of a few annual events around the State Fair it’s hardly used at all. Currently, there is some talk about demolition on the old stadium, and building in its place an amphitheater but whatever happens to this venue the memories associated with it for so many in the city are hard to replace.
Outside source info courtesy of Wikipedia
Image courtesy of Minor League Ball Parks
