St. Louis MLS Stadium

St. Louis MLS stadium
Location St. Louis, Missouri
Owner SC STL
Operator SC STL
Capacity 20,000
Surface Grass
Construction
Construction cost $200 million
Tenants
St. Louis MLS team (MLS)

The St. Louis MLS stadium is a proposed 20,000 seat soccer-specific stadium to be built in St. Louis, Missouri for the yet-to-be-named Major League Soccer expansion franchise in St. Louis. This stadium would be built beside Union Station, in west downtown St. Louis.[1]

Original Proposal

In February 2016, MLS began the search for a downtown site that could house a soccer-specific stadium. One of the locations surveyed had previously been intended for a stadium for the St. Louis Rams before the football team moved back to Los Angeles.[2]

On February 17th, an exploratory group of local businessmen calling itself "MLS2STL" formed with the goal of bringing an MLS franchise to St. Louis. Among its members were St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III, UniGroup President Jim Powers, St. Louis Blues CEO Chris Zimmerman, Saint Louis FC owner Jim Kavanaugh and Dave Peacock, former President of Anheuser-Busch who had recently co-chaired the unsuccessful NFL stadium task force.[3]

On November 18, the group, now called "SC STL", unveiled a proposal for a $200 million stadium, to be built on 30 acres of land owned by the Missouri Department of Transportation. The proposal included a request for $80M in public money, not counting potential additional land purchases.[4][5] At the same time, the full prospective ownership group was also unveiled, led by Paul Edgerley, the former Managing Director of Bain Capital in Boston, and including Peacock, Powers, and Kavanaugh from the original exploratory group.[6][7]

Opposition

On December 19th, Missouri governor-elect Eric Greitens came out against any public funding for the project, calling it "nothing more than welfare for millionaires."[8][9] Edgerley said that without public funding, it would be "hard to get" an expansion franchise in St. Louis.[10] A competing prospective ownership group, Foundry St. Louis, offered to pay the $80M public portion if they were allowed to join SC STL's bid for MLS expansion.[11] SC STL later asked for $40 million in state funds, but Greitens reiterated his opposition to any public contribution from the state, either tax credits or direct subsidy.[12]

The project was endangered in January 2017 when Alderwoman Christine Ingrassia withdrew the proposal to put the $80M public contribution to a vote.[13] Ingrassia said that SC STL was "asking for way more than I feel like we could support here in the city."[14]

Revised Proposal

By the end of January, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen revised the stadium bill, this time with a public contribution reduced to $60M.[15][16] It was passed on February 3rd, after the 10-week statutory cutoff before the public vote, requiring a judge's approval to be placed on the ballot. That approval came on February 9th, when St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Michael Mullen issued a ruling allowing the city election board to add two funding measures to the city ballot.[17][18]

MLS application

With the city contribution on its way to the voters, SC STL formally applied for an MLS franchise on January 31, 2017.[19]

Public Vote

The stadium proposal was brought to a public vote on the April 4, 2017 general municipal ballot, where it was defeated 53 to 47 percent.[20] This defeat was seen as being potentially fatal to SC STL's efforts to bring MLS to St. Louis.[21] However, there were reports indicating that St. Louis' bid for an MLS franchise was still active. [22]

References

  1. ↑ "MLS receives 12 applications by expansion submission deadline". si.com. Sports Illustrated. January 31, 2017.
  2. ↑ Hunn, David. "Major League Soccer to begin search for downtown St. Louis stadium site immediately". stltoday.com. St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  3. ↑ Hunn, David. "Local business leaders form Major League Soccer exploration group". stltoday.com. St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  4. ↑ Faulk, Mike. "MLS group reveals plan for $200 million stadium downtown". stltoday.com. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  5. ↑ Clancy, Sam. "MLS reaches verbal agreement to bring expansion team to St. Louis". KDSK. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  6. ↑ Straus, Brian. "Prospective St. Louis MLS expansion team names ownership group". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "MLS OWNERSHIP EXECUTIVES BACKGROUIND (sic)". St. Louis FC. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  8. ↑ "Missouri's governor-elect: St. Louis MLS stadium plan is 'welfare for millionaires'". Planet Futbol. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  9. ↑ Coreschi, Colton. "Missouri Governor-elect opposes public funding for St. Louis MLS stadium". SBI. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  10. ↑ Ortiz, Jose de Jesus. "Ortiz: Would $80 million derail MLS expansion in St. Louis?". stltoday.com. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  11. ↑ "Second St. Louis group criticizes public financing of MLS stadium". espnfc.com. ESPN. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  12. ↑ Faulk, Mike. "Greitens: 'I have completely ruled out state funding for stadiums'". stltoday.com. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  13. ↑ "St. Louis bid to join MLS in doubt as stadium funding plan is dropped". ESPN FC. ESPN. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  14. ↑ Faulk, Mike; Addo, Koran. "St. Louis soccer stadium funding bill is dead". stltoday.com. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  15. ↑ Faulk, Mike. "New life emerges for St. Louis soccer stadium". stltoday.com. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  16. ↑ "Aldermen fine-tune new soccer stadium funding plan; vote down Scottrade renovations". fox2now.com. Fox 2 St. Louis. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  17. ↑ Rosenbaum, Jason. "Judge paves way for St. Louis soccer stadium, MetroLink initiatives on April ballot". St. Louis Public Radio. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  18. ↑ Faulk, Mike. "Judge puts St. Louis soccer stadium, MetroLink expansion tax on ballot". stltoday.com. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  19. ↑ "St. Louis Ownership Group Applies for MLS Franchise". St. Louis FC. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  20. ↑ "Measure for public funding for MLS stadium defeated in St. Louis". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  21. ↑ "Stadium Measure's Defeat Likely Ends St. Louis' MLS Chances". The New York Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  22. ↑ "St. Louis' bid for an MLS franchise still active". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
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