Fans Hurt by Winds at Game

Thirty people were injured as high winds blew out press box windows, overturned portable concession stands and ripped the tarp at new Busch Stadium on Wednesday night before the Cardinals’ 8-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Five fans were taken to hospitals, according to Norm Corley, a supervisor with Accu-Care, which handles medical issues at the stadium. One of them had a dislocated hip, another a dislocated shoulder, two had back injuries and a fifth had a seizure apparently unrelated to the storm, Corley said.

The start of the game was delayed 2 hours 12 minutes as crews righted the concession stands, cleaned up debris and mopped flooded areas.

“This is the worst,” said longtime fan Carol Backs-Wenneman. “I was wondering if the new stadium would hold up.”

It was unclear whether the winds, which reached 80 mph, were the result of tornados. Gary Christmann, a St. Louis emergency official, said it appeared the damage came from “a lot of straight-line winds.”

Right after the national anthem, dark clouds moved over the ballpark and dust began swirling 20 feet in the air. Several fans could be heard yelling as they scattered for cover.

As the winds got harder and louder, about half of the plastic window sheets protecting the open-air press box popped out of place.

At least one of them -- about 10 feet wide and five feet high -- flew into the stands. The other sheets toppled into the box.

“I was hanging on for dear life,” usher Linda McGuire said. “The rain was hitting us so hard it felt like needles.”