Abandoned Cardinal Stadium

Located at 937 Phillips Lane in Louisville, Kentucky, rests the abandoned Cardinal Stadium.

Originally named Fairgrounds Stadium when it opened in 1956, the stadium was the official home of the University of Louisville Cardinals football team for 40 years.

When the University of Louisville football team exited the stadium at the end of the 1997 season, the baseball team moved in.  The Cardinals called the stadium their home from 1998 until 2004. However, the stadium was no stranger to the game of baseball. It had already been the official home of the Louisville Redbirds/River Bats since 1982 and would remain their home until 1999.

Surprisingly, the very first game that was played in Cardinal Stadium was an NFL preseason game between the Baltimore Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles on September 9th, 1956.

The stadium was officially renamed Cardinal Stadium instead of Fairgrounds Stadium in 1982 when the Louisville Redbirds (the AAA team of the St. Louis Cardinals) became co-tenants of the stadium.

After 2004, the stadium was no longer home to any University of Louisville teams. However, it was still used as a venue for concerts for the next 10 years. On April 26th, 2013, the seating within Cardinal Stadium was claimed to be unstable for people to safely sit on.  Seating was placed on the field in 2013 and 2014.

Demolition of the most unsafe portions of the stadium, including the entire northern bleachers, began on November 17th, 2014.



Surprisingly, almost three years later, a very large portion of the stadium still stands. It is currently owned by the Kentucky Exposition Center. The center uses the more stable portions of the stadium for animal housing during the Kentucky State Fair, and a large amount of space is used for outdoor storage.

At this point, it looks like nothing is going to change anytime soon.  The stadium continues to stand, deteriorate, and fade further into history.

Here's what we captured from within:




You can still see the yard lines from the football field.
















Standing on the goal-line in the West endzone.










Inside the baseball dugouts.


Inside the baseball locker room.