and more ready for it -- than St. Louis," said Jeff Cooper, chairman of St. Louis Soccer United. "As important, we'd be the ideal expansion site for MLS with our central location, population base, media market size and passion for soccer at all levels. It's a perfect marriage, and it's waiting to happen."
Cooper hopes to preside over that marriage by constructing a new facility for the potential expansion team to call home in Collinsville, located some eight miles east of downtown St. Louis. The 400-acre plot of land that St. Louis Soccer United is looking to develop is nestled within the intersection of Interstates 55-70 (east-west) and Interstate 255 (north-south).
"We have the perfect location for a stadium in Collinsville, where the combination of space, services, accessibility and proximity to St. Louis are unbeatable," Cooper said. "We are extremely grateful to Collinsville city officials for the endless hours they've dedicated to the project in advance of our presentation on Monday, and we look forward to a long, successful partnership win Collinsville for all of greater St. Louis."
The stadium development is estimated to cost around $100 million, some of which would be paid for by the city of Collinsville. It would take approximately $20 million in bonds sold by the city to get the project rolling. On Monday Cooper will officially present St. Louis Soccer United's plans to the city council, which is then expected to vote on Sept. 10 on the project.
"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," Cooper told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Though the official presentation will be Monday, Cooper has long been working with city officials to bring the plan to fruition.
Collinsville mayor Stan Schaeffer told the Post-Dispatch that the city has been working with St. Louis Soccer United since January of last year.
The approval of the stadium plan would make St. Louis a primary candidate for MLS expansion in 2009. The league has already announced that a team will return to the Bay Area in California in 2008 with the return of the San Jose Earthquakes, who were relocated to Houston prior to the 2006 MLS season. The league has stated that it is looking to expand in a couple of other locations over the next few years before capping expansion for some time.
"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," said MLS president Mark Abbott. "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. If approved, Collinsville would join a long line of communities that have partnered with MLS clubs to build world-class stadiums."
Seven of MLS's 13 teams currently play in six soccer-specific stadiums (Chivas USA and the LA Galaxy co-inhabit The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.). BMO Field in Toronto and Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., both opened this season and construction on a stadium for the New York Red Bulls recently began at Harrison, N.J.
St. Louis has a long and storied soccer history, one that Major League Soccer would love to tap into in the country's heartland. There are many players already in the league who have emerged from the soccer hotbed, and there are some 300,000 youths participating in the game locally now.
In order for the proposed stadium to be ready in time for the 2009 MLS season, Cooper told the Post-Dispatch that construction would need to begin by this November.
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
