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admin
11-18-2005, 02:44 AM
Even Busch's urinals can be yours, for a price

September 24 2005 at 10:49 PM Eric (ecky3@aol.com) (Premier Login ecky3 (http://www.network54.com/Profile/ecky3))
Forum Owner

Even Busch's urinals can be yours, for a price
By Michael D. Sorkin
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Friday, Sep. 23 2005

Smart investors know they should keep their hands firmly on their wallets
whenever they hear pitches like, "You have a once in a lifetime opportunity to
purchase ..."

But what if the opportunity is a chance to buy a piece of a beloved sports
stadium before it falls to the wrecking ball?

Fans have been drooling for weeks, and there may be no limit to what they're
willing to buy. That includes the dirt and urinals from Busch Stadium.

With at least two weeks - and perhaps as many as five - to go before the last
game is played at Busch, the Cardinals already have sold all 13,000 pairs of
game-used stadium seats put up for sale. Each pair cost $470.

The seats won't be available until sometime after Thanksgiving, but some new
owners already are trying to turn a profit by reselling them on eBay.

Is the salvage from Busch Stadium a good investment?

In the past, demolition companies took away the remains as part of their
payment. These days, ballclub owners know better.

The Cardinals hired an accounting company to provide an "authenticator" for
each game.

"A buyer of one of these objects from the stadium will have the Cardinals and
Major League Baseball standing behind it," says Michael Barnes of the Barnes
Sports Group in Festus. He's a consultant to the ballclub. "We're very
cognizant of the fact that buyers want to know that it's real."

There's another reason: This sale is big business. Cardinals President Mark
Lamping expects to net "in excess of $5 million" from selling pieces of the
stadium.

The money, he says, will help defray the team's share of the cost of the new
stadium, now budgeted at $345 million.

So is this stuff a good investment?

"I don't know," Lamping says. "I'm not a collector."

He says some will buy on speculation, while others will purchase items because
they are unique.

The Cards still have empty champagne bottles left from last year's championship
series. The club is pricing the empties at $500 apiece.

If you missed out on the stadium chairs, you still can get game-used seat backs
autographed by Hall of Famers Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Bob Gibson, Lou
Brock and Ozzie Smith, if you hurry.

The Cardinals will sell at least 3,222 of the hard, red plastic backs of the
seat, or whatever the total number of Cardinals games played at Busch turns out
to be. The price is $599, and 1,000 already have been sold.

A non-autographed seat back removed during renovations in the 1990s was being
offered on eBay this week. It had a high bid of $39.99.

Barnes is a lawyer who specializes in the auction of big-ticket sports items.
He says bases from the Cards' last game at Busch will have the potential to
increase in value. Another good investment, he predicts, is Albert Pujols'
locker. ("He'll make it into the Hall of Fame one day," Barnes says.)

If Busch Stadium had artificial turf, Barnes estimates he could sell thousands
of 2-inch-by-2-inch sections at $20 to $30 apiece.

Instead, the club plans to sell small containers of the stadium's dirt for
under $10. Barnes says he expects to sell 5,000 or so.

As for those urinals, Barnes says they'll be very popular. He expects to get
several hundred dollars or more each at an auction planned for Thanksgiving
weekend.

Why would anyone buy a used urinal from an old stadium?

"If there's a demand," Barnes says, "we will meet it."



AuthorReply

Andrew (info@allstarsplus.com)
(Login allstarsplus (http://www.network54.com/Profile/allstarsplus))
Urinals for sale

September 25 2005, 9:41 AM
I don't know who would want their favorite urinal from Busch Stadium and then I remembered that someone purchased off of eBay in 1998 a Mark McGwire game used jock strap.

To each their own I guess.


ryan4fregosi
(Login ryan4fregosi (http://www.network54.com/Profile/ryan4fregosi))
Re: Urinals for sale

September 25 2005, 5:58 PM
I'm saving up for Fredbird.


Ken (earlywynnfan5@hotmail.com)
(Login earlywynnfan (http://www.network54.com/Profile/earlywynnfan))
Re: Urinals for sale

November 17 2005, 10:48 AM
Just recently someone paid for Greg Maddux's game used cup, although it was auto'd!

Also on ebay, someone bought Jody Gerut's game-worn insole!! how do you display that?

encinorick
11-19-2005, 02:18 PM
As the saying goes, it's better to be pissed in, then pissed on.