In what was one of those moments I'll never forget, I was sitting with Jack Buck on the 4th of July by the pool at his home in 2001.

Just Jack Buck, my KMOV camera man, and me.

If there's one thing---and really, I think it may be just this one thing---I miss about doing TV regularly, it's the ability to get to sit down with sports personalities of note---whether they be athletes, coaches, or broadcasters---and have a conversation recorded on tape. Not an interview. But, a conversation.

It's in conversations---not interviews---where you find the real personality...and the subject's real, honest thoughts.

And, it was in this conversation with Jack Buck that he got a little fired up when I asked him about the back-and-forth between the city/county/state and the Cardinals over the proposal for the new ballpark downtown. Keep in mind that it was 2001, and the new ballpark hadn't been approved...and the Cardinals were considering leaving downtown St. Louis. Here's the exact transcript:

McKernan: "You said on the day the Governor and Bud Selig came to town that the downtown ballpark, and the plans being approved, was 'one of the greatest days in the history of downtown St. Louis.' Please tell me if I am misquoting you."

Buck: "No, that's right. I think it should be. The way I look at it is a city, or any entity is either going forward or it's going back. I don't think that St. Louis downtown right now is any great shakes. I think there are many other cities that are more attractive downtown than St. Louis. And, many of those cities have come from the bottom. And they've been reborn---like Pittsburgh, and Cleveland, and Milwaukee and some others."

McKernan: "Denver…?"

Buck: "Yeah, but Denver is not a bad city to start with. Neither is San Francisco. San Francisco didn't need the ballpark downtown. St. Louis needs a ballpark downtown, either this one or a new one. And, some day there will be a new ballpark downtown. Now, I don't know anything about bonds. I don't know anything about debt, except that I've had my own. I know this: the ballpark and the ball club are supported by the people that live out of the city and out of the state. The people that work in the city live in the county. They pay the city ordinance taxes. They go to the ballgames, and they pay the tax. People at home don't worry about the national debt. Do they? If they lay awake at night, worried about the billions of dollars that we owe, they'd never sleep. This city needs a new ballpark. Someday, they will get one. Even if they started now, it wouldn't be until 2005 or 2006. So, if they started in 2005, we'll have one in 2010. I think the current owners have done nothing but good for the Cardinals. I think a lot of people are jealous. I think a lot of people of ordinary income don't like rich people. I know that for a fact. And you do, too. And, I think the folks tuned in know that, too. They talk about the rich kids from Country Day. One of the owners, David Pratt, is a self-made man from Kirkwood. Never went to a university. And he's a brilliant person, and he's an interested Cardinal owner. Some of these attitudes have to change. But, it's not going to be the end of my life if they don't approve it. But, I will say this; it could be the end of St. Louis's downtown life if they lose that ball club."

Not only was he a great broadcaster, Jack Buck was a candid visionary.

As he was so often, the Hall of Famer was right on target. And, Jack Buck made some statements in the above two paragraphs that other people wouldn't be able to get away with, but he was Jack Buck.  And, so his---at the time---radical viewpoint on class envy, the state of downtown St. Louis, and the importance of the Cardinals to the region...but specifically downtown...were accepted, and quite frankly in hindsight, somewhat ignored.

More than eight years later, downtown St. Louis is in a different world than where it was when Jack Buck spoke those words. Washington Avenue serves as home not only for a number of bars and restaurants opened in the last eight years, but for thousands of residents, including myself.

When Mr. Buck called the day in which the Governor and Bud Selig approving the plans for the new ballpark "one of the greatest days in the history of downtown St. Louis," I'm quite certain that he didn't envision Washington Avenue where it is now...or the unfortunate state of Ballpark Village where it is now.

Yet here we are in 2009...with the new Busch Stadium in its fourth year of existence...and you'd be hard-pressed to find many people---business owners or residents---who can tell you they are where they are on the south end of downtown St. Louis because of the new Busch Stadium.

In Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner's character Ray Kinsella responded to the famous voice calling, "If you build it, they will come." The city, county, state, and ownership built the new ballpark, and yes...they do indeed come, but only on 81 nights a year. The promise of the early part of this decade in getting the new ballpark approved---albeit in a much different capacity than originally proposed---was that it would spur growth around the south end of downtown.

With no Ballpark Village and hardly any businesses or residents flocking to the area as of yet, that promise has not been fulfilled.

And, yet, here we are in 2009 with downtown St. Louis growing despite it all. The downtown area showed a growth of 6% in population in 2008...one of the largest jumps in the metropolitan area.

Young, professional people are moving downtown. And, more and more are doing it...even without Ballpark Village.

In quite the twist, it's the north side of downtown that actually has led to the city's resurgence.

When I was 24 in 2001, we hardly ever even considered going out downtown. That completely changed within two years. But, it was one thing to go out downtown....it was a totally different thing to actually commit to living downtown.

Yet, in the last five years, thousands have elected to do so, and areas that were once danger zones are now filled with residents, restaurants, and energy.

But, despite all of that growth and all of the people...up until yesterday, there was no real grocery store for downtown residents. Sure, City Grocers did its best, but for those who were used to the sprawling 63,000 sq ft of a Schnucks or Dierbergs, it just wasn't the same.

I've lived here since February, and I'd still make the trek out to Kirkwood once a week to get groceries. And, I know some of my neighbors would do the same thing.

Those days are officially over.

The Culinaria, a Schnucks Market, opened at 9th and Olive yesterday, and it's the store that downtown St. Louisans have wanted and needed for years. Quite honestly, it's perfect. And, I'm not even getting a dollar of advertising revenue from Schnucks.

It's surprisingly massive. It has everything my Schnucks in Kirkwood has. And, it now ends the questioning from those who don't want to believe---for whatever reason---that the downtown St. Louis rebirth is just a fad. If Schnucks---a name brand synonymous not just with St. Louis...but with old school St. Louis---feels confident enough in what has happened down here, then you, too, skeptical potential businesses and residents can feel more comfortable about downtown St. Louis.

I have lived in St. Louis Hills. I have lived in Clayton. I have lived in Kirkwood. And, I now live on Washington Avenue.

There's not a place in the city I would rather live than where I live right now.

Period.

I have a two minute commute to the radio station on The Landing. And, I have a two minute commute---if that---to the insideSTL.com offices at 19th and Locust.

Now, with the Culinaria at 9th and Olive, I have no need to go past 20th Street unless I want to visit my parents or pick up some Mom's Deli.

I know...downtown is not for you if you have kids. I completely respect that. And, I know...the school system still sucks. And, I know...the issue of panhandlers and car break-ins are real and more prominent than they should be.

But, the journey back to where so many believe this city can once again be is about taking steps. And, as stupid as it sounds, a downtown grocery store is a big step in the right direction.

I assure you that if Jack Buck were alive today, he would think the same thing.

"The way I look at it is a city, or any entity is either going forward or it's going back. I don't think that St. Louis downtown right now is any great shakes." Those are his words in 2001.

I'm happy to say that, finally, things are changing in 2009.

Log-in to post your comments, or you can email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com.