The goal of bringing Major League Soccer to St. Louis took a big first step when the city council of Collinsville, Ill. approved an agreement to annex land that would then be used to build a soccer-specific stadium for under a plan submitted by St. Louis Soccer United.
St. Louis is intent on landing an expansion club in MLS. The proposal includes plans for an 18,500-seat stadium in Collinsville, as well as a complex including eight FIFA-approved synthetic turf fields that are fully lit, along with a professional grass training field. The proposed development would also include retail, office and residential space on the approximate 400-acre site. The development as well would include two 120 room hotels and approximately 1,600 residential units.
St. Louis has long been a hotbed of soccer. A recent study said that St. Louis youth soccer has the highest average participation rate of any market in MLS, existing or proposed. According to the study, 10.2 percent of the area's youth participate in organized soccer. In addition, Saint Louis University continues to be a big draw in college soccer. The men's team ranks in the top 10 in attendance, while the women rank in the top 20.
Jeff Cooper, the chairman of St. Louis Soccer United sees this first step as a leap ahead for St. Louis soccer.
"It's extremely important," Cooper said of the agreement. "St. Louis is Soccer Town USA"
Major League Soccer officials said they are very pleased with the developments toward a new stadium in the St. Louis area, and that they look forward to continuing their discussions.
Thomas Foote is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
Cooper sees the agreement as filling a gap that might have hindered St. Louis from a MLS team in the past.
"St. Louis deserved a MLS team but didn't have the infrastructure for it. It didn't have the proper stadium and now it will," Cooper said.
St. Louis Soccer United made a tour of MLS stadiums before coming up with its stadium proposal. The stadium is being billed as state of the art and is expected to cost $572 million.
"We visited Dallas (Frisco, Texas), Chicago (Bridgeview, Ill.), Toronto and Columbus," Cooper said. "We tried to find the best of those (stadiums) to integrate into our stadium plan."
Officials with St. Louis Soccer United approached the government of Collinsville in the initial phases of the proposal.
"We worked extremely closely with the Collinsville officials since the beginning of this (proposal), and they were confident it would be passed," Cooper said.
Under the agreement the city of Collinsville will pay $3 million a year for 25 years. Officials are confident that the development will generate $5.7 million per year.
"It's the best thing that's ever happened in Collinsville, first and foremost," Cooper said.
The agreement, part of a series of votes passed by the city council, is not a final decision. Collinsville city manager Bob Knabel said the final vote on creation of a "tax increment financing district" and the project itself will likely come with a vote on the redevelopment of the property, expected later this fall.
