The Taylor family and MLS commissioner Don Garber
The waiting game continues for St. Louis' Major League Soccer team bid. In April, we saw our first glimpse of the renderings for a proposed 22,5000-capacity soccer stadium near the forthcoming St. Louis Aquarium. Soon thereafter, the league decided to expand to 30 teams, with St. Louis and Sacramento appearing to lead the pack and a decision expected around the time of the MLS All-Star Game on July 31. Alas, that time has come and gone. Here are seven things to know while we continue to wait:
1. The MLS4TheLou ownership group made its pitch to the league last month. On July 15, the group leading St. Louis’ bid—comprised of Enterprise Holding Foundation’s Carolyn Kindle Betz and Andy Taylor and World Wide Technology CEO Jim Kavanaugh—gave a formal presentation to the MLS expansion committee at the league’s headquarters in New York City. The group was also present for the MLS Board of Governors meeting in Orlando on July 31.
"During the Board of Governors meeting, we discussed the stadium plan, community and sponsorship support, and, of course, the amazing St. Louis sports fans," Kindle Betz said in a statement to SLM, noting that the group was "very excited" with how the meetings have gone.
2. The league is talking to more than St. Louis and Sacramento as it looks to expand. “We are in advanced talks with both of them,” Garber told Sports Illustrated. "They are not exclusive talks. Exclusive means we’re not talking to anybody else. It doesn’t mean anybody’s leapfrogging anybody else. We are in discussions with Charlotte, but we are also in discussions with Sacramento and St. Louis.”
3. St. Louis appears to be leading the pack. "Multiple sources connected to the expansion process, as well as commissioner Don Garber, suggested that St. Louis is the furthest along," according to Sports Illustrated, which noted that Garber characterized the league’s conversations with St. Louis as the "most optimistic."
4. Such a significant investment takes time to finalize. "In both of those cases, you're looking at between $550 million and $650 million in investment," Garber told ESPN. "When you're making an investment like that, they take a while to close. That's the process that we're going through now, and it's not remotely alarming to me or anybody else."
5. MLS4TheLou is finalizing the details, including corporate support and working with the city. “It’s turning out to be a jigsaw puzzle, in the sense of making sure that on our side, we put together the best sponsorship package for that customer or that corporation," Kindle Betz told Sports Illustrated. "We’ll get there. We’re just trying to figure out how to get there in a way that both parties feel they have a win-win. There’s room for everybody.”
Kindle Betz told SLM, "There is still work to be done as we still need to secure and prepare the site for the proposed stadium. However, we feel confident that our presentations have improved our chances to bring an MLS team to America’s first soccer capital.”
6. A timeframe has not been announced. Garber told The Sacramento Bee that the MLS board is slated to meet again in December, but noted that a decision could happen sooner.
7. Catching a soccer game is still an option while we wait. Saint Louis FC faces the Charleston Battery this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (Visit the team's site for tickets and the remaining schedule.) And the U.S. men's soccer team will face Uruguay at Busch Stadium on September 10.
