Plans for the to-be-built Major League Soccer stadium downtown are officially growing, encompassing about 31 acres and expanding to include an area north of Market Street, between 20th and 22nd streets.
As Jacob Barker and Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported on Wednesday, the updated plans include three blocks north of Market. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the #MLS4TheLou ownership group confirmed that the plans were expanding, with the development of a hub around the stadium for year-round use. That Downtown West District will include retail and restaurants open beyond the 17 home games a year, a release stated. In the area west of Union Station—south of Market—where the stadium was first proposed, will be team offices and a training facility. St. Louis was awarded the league’s 28th soccer team in August.
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In a release, #MLS4TheLou said the reason for the expansion was to ensure the stadium and district would continue to revitalize downtown, citing other projects doing so, such as the Great Rivers Greenway. This expansion would extend the Gateway Mall both north and south.
“Our vision is to create a district around our proposed MLS stadium that will get people excited to visit Downtown West, not only before and after games, but on non-game days as well,” said Carolyn Kindle Betz, one in the team’s ownership group, in a statement. “We believe this district will not only be the heart of St. Louis soccer, but a special piece of downtown that will fuel the renaissance currently underway.” Kindle Betz tweeted renderings of the updated plan on Thursday.
The project is currently expected to be completed in 2022. There will be 22,500 seats in the stadium, all within 120 feet of the field. To see more renderings of the proposed stadium and district, click through the slideshow below.
