Stadium of dreams
By Tom Timmermann and Shane Graber
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Friday, Aug. 10 2007
Efforts to bring professional outdoor soccer back to St. Louis will enter a decisive phase on Monday when a prominent Metro East lawyer will propose a $100 million stadium complex in Collinsville that he intends to be home to a Major League Soccer franchise.
The Collinsville City Council will hear a presentation from East Alton attorney
Jeff Cooper about a 400-acre development project that would include an 18,900-seat stadium, a hotel, at least two restaurants, about 1,000 single-family homes, several youth soccer fields and nearly 500,000 square feet of office and retail space.
While the complex would be a destination point in the Metro East area, it would not come without risk; Collinsville would have to sell about $20 million in bonds to get the project started. The City Council is expected to vote Sept. 10 on the project, which would be located at Interstate 255 and Horseshoe Lake Road."When I saw it," said Collinsville Mayor Stan Schaeffer, "I was expecting a stadium — and I got a suburb." Schaeffer and the four Collinsville City Council members make up the five-person panel that would vote on the proposal. He said the city has been working since January last year to make this happen.
Collinsville would pay off what likely would be 25-year bonds from sales taxes on everything bought at the complex, a parking tax included in ticket costs, and an entertainment tax also included in the price of a ticket.
Once the bonds are paid off, the city would still collect that tax money, Cooper said.
"The city stands to make $40 million to $50 million above and beyond the bonds in the first 10 years," he said. "What we're prepared to do is put an $80 million to $100 million investment into Collinsville, and we're asking the city to help us out with some of that with taxes that will be paid off from the project.
"Collinsville is also investing in its own future."
If the stadium plan is approved, St. Louis soon could be granted an MLS expansion franchise that would begin play in 2009. Cooper has negotiated extensively with the league about securing a team and is confident that once a stadium deal is done, a team would soon follow.
"I'm extremely optimistic,'' said Cooper, who this year tried to buy an MLS franchise, Real Salt Lake, from Blues owner Dave Checketts. Once the deal is done, "it's in MLS' court at that point. Then it's up to MLS to help us get this deal done, which they've committed from Day One to do the minute we had a stadium deal."
Collinsville City Manager Bob Knabel said he and his staff will recommend during next month's council meeting that the city approve the complex. He acknowledged that the proposal includes no guarantees. If the league, team or stadium tanks, the city will have to find other ways to pay off the bonds.
"There's always a risk, but you're also trying to cover those risks with what you see as reasonable resources," Knabel said.
Cooper said that an analysis commissioned and conducted by Economics Research Associates estimated the project would create $2.3 billion of economic impact to Collinsville and the surrounding area over 10 years.
At present, the ownership group consists of Cooper and Michael Huyghue, the president of a sports management company and the former general manager of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. Cooper said he is in discussions with other potential local investors.
While Collinsville isn't the only city where the team could go, it's the only city that would be ready by 2009. MLS plans to add only two more teams by 2010 before stopping expansion for several seasons. Also, the current expansion fee is $30 million, but that price is expected to go up — possibly to $50 million — as the league enters the David Beckham Era, which is expected to bring in more revenue. When Toronto received an expansion franchise in November 2005 to begin play this season, the price tag was $10 million.
St. Louis is one of several cities working to get a team before the league settles at 16 franchises. (The league currently has 13 teams, and an expansion team in San Jose, Calif., will start next year.) But the league won't consider a city for expansion unless it has an appropriate venue, preferably an 18,000-seat soccer-specific stadium that the team controls. Without that, it's difficult for teams to show a profit.
A franchise in St. Louis would be appealing to MLS.
"Major League Soccer is excited about St. Louis Soccer United's efforts to bring an MLS team to one of the most passionate and storied soccer markets in the United States," MLS President Mark Abbott said Thursday. "We continue to believe the greater St. Louis area would be a tremendous home for an MLS club and are pleased to see the interest from the city of Collinsville in a soccer-specific stadium and mixed-use development."
St. Louis has a strong soccer heritage. A St. Louis team would create a natural rivalry with franchises that already exist in Kansas City and Chicago. St.
Louis University is consistently among the NCAA's leaders in soccer attendance, and there are many players with St. Louis roots in the league. Additionally, preps soccer thrives here in relation to most other markets.
The discussions with the league, Cooper said, have moved past topics like the expansion fee and on to issues such as hosting the MLS All-Star Game or MLS Cup, the league's championship game, as well as the method for choosing players in the expansion process and acquiring international players.
Cooper said the team would need to break ground by November to be assured of having the stadium done in time for the 2009 season.
The Gateway City Supporters Club was officially established today following a vote on the Bigsoccer.com forum for MLS expansion in St. Louis.
We have a new website at www.leaguelineup.com/gatewaycitysc
If you want to join us please submit an online registration form at the website above by clicking in the Directory on "online forms" and following the instructions there.
Our Message to MLS:
"The fans are organized and ready, we just need a St. Louis MLS team to support."
