Busch to remove 100 decorative metal plates

ST. LOUIS -- More than 100 decorative black steel plates will be removed from Busch Stadium after one of the 170-pound plates fell from the ballpark.

Vice president of stadium operations Joe Abernathy told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that inspectors believe rusted anchor bolts holding the panel eroded. It fell about 80 feet to the sidewalk Monday. No one was hurt.

Abernathy said the recent hot weather could have caused the rusted bolts to expand and forced the panel loose. He was disappointed something like that would happen in a stadium that opened in 2006.

Workers will remove 102 plates over the next few days. The work should be finished before the Cardinals' next home game Tuesday against Milwaukee.