St. Louis is in the Final Four.
No, not in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The Edward Jones Dome and St. Louis are one of four remaining competitors for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials. Omaha, Neb., Greensboro, N.C., and San Antonio are also still in the pool.
Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis has been eliminated as a possible site because, “It has proven to be challenging for creating an intimate swimming setting around the pool at this time," says Mike Unger, USA Swimming assistant executive director. Jacksonville, Fla., withdrew its bid earlier this month.
While I’m not a fan of most tax abatement plans, a few of them do make financial and economic-development sense.
It took several years, but the state House and Senate finally have seen the light and approved a bill that establishes a new tax credit for amateur sporting events. This is of vital importance for St. Louis and Kansas City—but also for any city or town in Missouri hoping to attract a national amateur sporting event.
A portion of revenues raised through ticket sales at amateur sporting events can now be returned to the bid organizing committee to be used to attract other events. For example, if this bill had been passed a few years ago when first proposed, tax money recouped from the 2012 NCAA men’s basketball tournament regional in St. Louis could have been used to bolster the bid for the 2016 Olympic Swimming Trials.
St. Louis also has its sights set on the 2016 or 2017 SEC men’s basketball tournament. Frank Viverito, president of the St. Louis Sports Commission, would like to create a major college football bowl game here, too. That, of course, might hinge on construction of a new stadium for the St. Louis Rams.
Again, this bill only deals with amateur sports. It could not be hijacked to find a way to give the Rams a route to tax breaks for future investment in a new stadium or rehab of the Edward Jones Dome.
As the late Roger Miller once wrote, “You can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd.” Well, you also can’t swim on a football field. To host the trials, a pair of temporary Olympic-sized pools—the competition pool and the warm-up pool—will be constructed on the floor of the stadium. The adjoining America’s Center convention facility would host an Aqua Zone fan and sponsor experience.
Texas, Florida, and other states have already passed similar legislation. The race is on for amateur sporting events, and as soon as Gov. Nixon signs the newly passed tax abatement, St. Louis can begin catching up.
Commentary by Alvin Reid
