Photography courtesy of St. Louis Football Club
When the Meramec River flooded in December 2015, staff at the St. Louis Soccer Park, in Fenton, said it was unlike anything they’d ever seen—and then they witnessed a similar flood 16 months later. “We have concerns that this is going to become a consistent pattern,” says Patrick Barry, president of the St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club, which oversees the Fenton facility. It is estimated that the events caused nearly $4 million in damage.
Other area sporting facilities are feeling the effects of a changing climate. Last winter, the seasons of Hidden Valley Ski Resort and Shaw Park Ice Rink were shortened by warm weather, with temperatures reaching 75 degrees in February. For the first time, Shaw Park’s pool stayed open until October 1.
Though management at local outdoor facilities has made few, if any, public statements about the potential effects of climate change, leading scientists are coming to town April 22–24 to attend the Saint Louis Climate Summit at Saint Louis University. Among other topics, they will discuss “the impact of climate change on the global economy” and “how to mitigate that change when possible and adapt to it when not.”
Locally, Washington University professor of urban design John Hoal says that although “climate change is not an exact science,” there is general consensus that “storms will become more intense, more focused.” He suggests better management of development along the Meramec River: “Cities within the watershed are not [developing] in an integrated manner and controlling the water at various points upstream. The net result is that everyone just lets the water go downstream, and so it comes to a point where it all backs up.”
The soccer club is now consulting with scientists to determine whether the flooding is likely to become a pattern. The club plans to stay at the Fenton site, Barry says, but would look at other options if evidence indicates that flooding will continue.
Farther west, Hidden Valley plans to build a zipline after saying it would not be feasible to continue operating without it. Peak Resorts’ Greg Fisher says the warm-weather attraction is a potential source of revenue but does not present it as a response to global warming. “I don’t know if climate change is necessarily making things warmer,” he says. “I think it’s making weather more erratic to predict.” (In a report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, however, Peak Resorts stated that “there is a growing political and scientific consensus that emissions of greenhouse gases continue to alter the composition of the global atmosphere in ways that are affecting and are expected to continue affecting the global climate…Warmer overall temperatures would likely adversely affect skier visits and our revenue and profits.”)
In Shaw Park, a $7.5 million outdoor ice rink and multipurpose facility is slated to replace the old rink next year. During the warm months, the new rink can be converted to an artificial grass field. The improved ice skating facility will provide Clayton with “the best chance of having good-quality ice during the rink season,” says director of parks and recreation Patty DeForrest. “Making it usable in the other months also makes it a good investment.
“Over time, the changes in weather are going to have significant impacts on a lot of things,” adds DeForrest. “From a recreation standpoint, you have to adapt.”
