Opening Day in St. Louis

The St. Louis Cardinals will host the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon to open up the home portion of the 2014 season.
April 14, 2012; St. Louis, MO. USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese (23) shakes hands with hall of famer players Ozzie Smith (left), Bruce Sutter (second from left), Whitey Herzog (second from right), and Lou Brock (right) after receiving his 2011 World Series Ring during a ceremony before a game against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Image Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
The schedule for the day is as follows:
10 a.m.
*Cardinals Hall of Fame & Museum Dedication Ceremony: The Cardinals will host an invitation-only ceremony to formally dedicate the new Cardinals Hall of Fame presented by Edward Jones and the team’s new Cardinals Museum within Cardinals Nation at Ballpark Village. While the ceremony is not open to the general public due to a lack of space, the team will live-stream the ceremony on cardinals.com and broadcast the ceremony on the outdoor Busch II scoreboard screen and on the 40 ft. television in FOX Sports Midwest Live! in Ballpark Village.

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
*Cardinals Official Opening Day Pre-Game Pep Rally, sponsored by Hardee’s: The Cardinals and Hardee’s will host a pre-game pep rally across from the Cardinals Team Store, in the Ballpark Village parking lot. Local rock band Trixie Delight will perform from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

*Fredbird and Team Fredbird will be on hand to give away Opening Day tickets, autographed items and other Cardinals prizes. Fans can purchase a Hardee’s Combo Meal after regular breakfast hours from the Mobile Diner or Hardee’s restaurant on Chestnut and receive a free Cardinals t-shirt while supplies last. Other sponsors include: Budweiser, First National Bank, Fox Theatre, FOX Sports Midwest, Goodwill, Krispy Kreme, Missouri Lottery, The Muny, PNC Bank, Rawlings, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Grant’s Farm and The Tan Company.

1:15 p.m.
*Gates open
*Budweiser Magnet Schedule Day: All ticketed-fans, ages 21 and over, will receive a magnet with the 2014 Cardinals schedule, compliments of Budweiser Beer.

2:30 p.m.
*Pre-game ceremonies begin with an appearance by the famed Budweiser Clydesdales.
*Introduction of St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley, St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay, and Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder
*Introduction of Fredbird and Team Fredbird
*Cardinals Hall-of-Famers will be introduced via a Ford Motorcade, led around the warning track by a 1964 Ford Mustang. Each Cardinals Hall of Famer will be riding in a 2014 Ford Mustang Convertible
*Introduction of Mike Shannon, Danny Cox and Jim Edmonds with past National League Championship trophies.
*Introduction of the 2014 St. Louis Cardinals via Ford Motorcade. The players will ride in 2014 Ford F-150 Raptors.
*Introduction of the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals lineups
*2013 National League Champions banner raised in the outfield.
*Color Guard provided by Ft. Leonard Wood and American Flag in Center Field, courtesy of a joint services group at Scott Air Force Base
*American Bald Eagle, courtesy of the World Bird Sanctuary of St. Louis
*The National Anthem will be performed by Curtis Finch, Jr. – a Top 10 Finalist on American Idol Season 12, and St. Louis native.
*Ceremonial First Pitch by former Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter.