CARDINAL PRESIDENT MAKES HIS SALES PITCH

Any good sales pitch depends on a quality product, an affordable cost -- and a top-notch salesperson. Mark Lamping, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, came to town Friday to sell a new baseball stadium in St. Louis to be funded, in part, by state taxes. There's no question the Cardinal boss knows how to sell. It will be up to the public to determine if they like the product and its cost.

It was clear from Lamping's presentation that plans for a new stadium have gone through quite a process. In the past 11 months he has heard just about every objection imaginable, and it appears the Cardinals have tried to respond in a positive way.

For example, there would be about the same number of seats overall, but a lot more cheap seats at ground level. How cheap? Lamping doesn't expect any big increases in ticket prices.

Lamping expects the new downtown development in St. Louis to generate far more tax revenue than would be taken from the share of ticket fees paid by fans. It's a well-thought-out plan. Now Lamping must sell the plan to Missouri.