4,600 Baseball Fans Take Advantage of Safe-Ride Home Programs During MLB All-Star Week

Major League Baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals and Anheuser-Busch today announced 4,600 baseball fans took advantage of Anheuser-Busch's safe-ride home programs during MLB All-Star Week July 10-14.

"This year's Midsummer Classic was a huge success, drawing hundreds of thousands of baseball fans to St. Louis," said John Brody, senior vice president, Corporate Sales and Marketing, Major League Baseball. "St. Louis has been a wonderful host, and we appreciate the many programs put in place by the community to promote personal responsibility."

Anheuser-Busch partnered with Major League Baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals, Sportservice and TEAM (Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management) Coalition to implement its Budweiser Good Sport program at events held at Busch Stadium and in the All-Star Sponsor Zone. As part of the program, fans who signed up to be the designated driver for their groups received a free soda or non-alcohol O'Doul's and promotional beads. In addition, one lucky participant was selected as the "Designated Driver of the Game" at each event inside the stadium and awarded an All-Star polo shirt. Approximately 4,000 All-Star fans participated in the Good Sport program.

"Anheuser-Busch has been promoting personal responsibility and helping prevent drunk driving for nearly three decades - almost as long as Budweiser's been the official beer sponsor of Major League Baseball," said Carol Clark, vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility, Anheuser-Busch. "We're thrilled so many fans chose designated drivers or alternate forms of transportation."

In addition, fans who attended the All-Star Charity Concert presented by Pepsi were encouraged to check out the Budweiser Sound Attitude booth for information on Anheuser-Busch's designated-driver and safe-ride initiatives, as well as the company's responsibility efforts. More than 300 concert-goers signed up to be the designated driver for their party at the Sound Attitude booth.

Anheuser-Busch and its local distributors, Lohr Distributing and Grey Eagle Distributing, also partnered with Laclede Cab to implement Anheuser-Busch's Alert Cab program at bars and restaurants in downtown St. Louis. As part of the program, bartenders and servers at participating bars and restaurants received a confidential phone number to request a free cab ride for adults in need of a safe ride home.

Finally, close to 300 fans relied on ScooterGuy to get home safely following the All-Star festivities. ScooterGuy was stationed outside of Busch Stadium and at area bars and restaurants.

Good Sport, Sound Attitude, Alert Cab and ScooterGuy were endorsed by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, St. Louis Fire Department and Illinois State Police. In addition, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay declared July 10 as "Responsibility Matters Day" in recognition of Anheuser-Busch's safe-ride home initiatives during All-Star Week.

Since 1982, Anheuser-Busch and its nationwide network of 600 wholesalers, including Lohr Distributing and Grey Eagle Distributing, have invested more than $750 million in national advertising campaigns and community-based programs to promote responsible drinking and prevent alcohol abuse, including drunk driving. For more information on these efforts and the progress being made, visit: www.beeresponsible.com.