ST. LOUIS -- If you are attending Thursday night's game at Busch Stadium, you'll be a part of history.
The Cardinals expect to welcome their 50 millionth fan in their 1,221st game at the downtown ballpark, which opened in 2006. It's a new major league record for the fewest dates needed to reach 50 million fans. Previously, the San Francisco Giants held the mark by reaching 50 million in 1.259 games at Oracle Park (2000-2015).
Busch Stadium's regular season attendance total currently stands at 49,977,443 since April 10, 2006. The club expects to have more than 33,000 fans at tonight's game against the Diamondbacks (6:45 PM CT, KMOX), which will put them over 50 million.
The Cardinals are the third team to reach the 50 million mark since the 2006 season, joining the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. Since 2010, only the Dodgers have a higher home attendance total than the Cardinals.
There will be an on-field ceremony tonight to recognize the milestone.