Acoustical and Thermal Solutions for the New Busch Stadium

Location: St. Louis, MO

A major league ballpark can be a noisy place, especially when filled with screaming fans, like those of the St. Louis Cardinals at their Busch Stadium home. Because of all this noise, acoustic control is a critical design issue in the more private areas of the stadium.

When the St. Louis Cardinals organization began construction on the “New” Busch Stadium, insulating the stadium’s suites for top acoustical performance was a priority.

CertainTeed Corporation was called to bat and ultimately hit a grand slam home run when four products from its line of CertaPro™ fiber glass insulation were selected to shield the stadium’s 90 suites from outside weather and noise.

“CertainTeed’s insulation products are consistently high quality, and that’s exactly what was needed for this high-profile, demanding project,” says Mike Pruett, project estimator for Goley Insulation, Inc., the insulation contractor on the project.

The project called for 100,000 square feet of CertaPro R19 Thermal Batt insulation, 46,000 square feet of CertaPro R19 AcoustaTherm™ Batt insulation, 92,000 square feet of CertaPro R11 AcoustaTherm Batt insulation and 14,000 square feet of six-pound density CertaPro Commercial Board with foil-scrim-kraft (FSK) facing.

AcoustaTherm R19 batts were installed in larger suites with higher noise potential, while the R11 batts were used in the more average-size suites. Commercial Board was installed in areas where a temperature-controlled suite extended over an unconditioned area for extra thermal protection from upward-blowing winds during chilly spring and fall baseball weather.

“Our insulation products have been widely known for years for their superior performance in both the residential and commercial construction markets,” says Howard Deck, President of CertainTeed’s Insulation Group. “It’s always wonderful to see them specified in a project that is so large and exciting to baseball fans across the country. We’re pleased that CertainTeed insulation was chosen to help enhance the comfort and enjoyment of watching America’s favorite pastime at this beautiful ballpark.”