After missing out on being awarded an MLS expansion team back in 2017, the city of St Louis, Missouri, has made a renewed bid for top tier soccer with plans for a new stadium built from mostly private funding.
St Louis’s previous bid, which was considered a front runner for an expansion team, collapsed after voters turned down a ballot that would see tax payers’ money fund a 22,000-seat stadium.
A new plan has been announced by a group led by the Taylor family – the owners of car rental company Enterprise Holdings –who said the franchise would be a female-majority owned group (an MLS first) and would build a new stadium that sought minimal public funding.
The 22,000-seat stadium, which is believed would cost in the region of US$250m, would be built on the same plot of land as in the original plan, near Union Station, however instead of public funding the franchise is requesting a tax break on the city’s 5% amusement tax charged to tickets on sporting events. Should this be approved by city officials, no public vote would be required to go ahead with the stadium.
Pic: HOK
