Arizona Cardinals should play an annual home game in St. Louis

The Arizona Cardinals have made the desert their home since 1988. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t pay homage to their old home. 

Between 1960 and 1987, the Arizona Cardinals were once known as the St. Louis Cardinals. Or, to distinguish them from the baseball team of the same name, some called them the St. Louis Football Cardinals.

And while the Cardinals time in St. Louis was wrought with losing seasons, they did win back-to-back NFC East Championships in the Gateway to the West in 1974 and 1975. After that, the Cardinals would never win the NFC East again.

Their relatively poor play on the field juxtaposed with an aging Busch Stadium prompted fans to lose interest. As a result, the Bidwill Family sought to relocate the Cardinals to Jacksonville, Phoenix, or Baltimore.

They moved to the desert before the 1988 season and were rebranded as the Phoenix Cardinals. And in 1994, the Los Angeles Rams moved to the Cardinals old home and became the St. Louis Rams. Coincidentally, the two franchises became division rivals during the 2002 realignment, which saw the Cardinals shift over into the NFC West.

Following the 2015 season, the Rams returned to Los Angeles, once again leaving St. Louis vacant. And while fan interest dwindled in the years preceding the Cardinals move, St. Louis sports fans would appreciate seeing anyone return to The Dome at America’s Center (formerly the Edward Jones Dome).

Even if it were for just one game per season. And who is a better candidate to return than a familiar face in the Cardinals?

Why should the Arizona Cardinals give up a home game in Glendale to play an annual home game in St. Louis?

First off, this is becoming the norm in the NFL. NFL teams have given up home games to play in London, England, for years. The Jacksonville Jaguars have done this on an annual basis. In 2022, the Cardinals are already playing a game in Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. And finally, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are giving up a home game to play in Munich, Germany.

And while I am all for the Cardinals tapping into a new fan base down in Mexico, England, or Germany to further establish their international presence, they are also in a position few NFL teams find themselves in, having played in not two but three different cities.

Playing a home game in The Dome at America’s Center would allow the Cardinals to tap back into the St. Louis fan base and further grow their presence in a city they used to call home. Perhaps they can do the same thing in Chicago if the Bears leave town?

And while you may say that this is taking a home game away, it’s also wise to ask yourself if this is really the case. Are the Arizona Cardinals taking home games away, or are they re-establishing their fan base?

Doing so would lead the Cardinals to establish a better presence. This, in turn, could lead to more television exposure in the St. Louis and even nearby markets, given a sense of renewed interest.

Yes, it means giving up a home game in the desert. But since St. Louis used to be a place the Cardinals called home, they can easily draw fan interest once again. Especially if those fans are starved to stand behind a team, they can, in a manner of speaking, call their own once again.

This would be a win for the fans in St. Louis. A win for the Cardinals. And really, since it is only one home game per season, fans in the desert are really only losing out one game per season, which still gives them between seven and eight home games per season at State Farm Stadium.