So... what is Jeff Cooper doing?

[Marchetti]

I have recently been thinking about this a lot. Jeff Cooper has been consistently named as THE man in Saint Louis trying to bring an MLS side to the Metro area (apparently it still seems like Collinsville).

So the question has to be asked: What is Jeff Cooper doing lately to better his chances of not only securing a stadium in Collinsville (or anywhere else), but also securing MLS's approval to expand into Saint Louis?

It seems as though Lew Wolff in San Jose has been making a lot of noise lately, and with ownership changes in Portland, they also seem to have a lot of pro-MLS ideas. The latest that we have heard is that Cooper has secured the rights to a Saint Louis franchise in the resurrected WUSA, but nothing else since then... especially in relation to MLS.

Has he put together any sort of a front office? Is someone besides Cooper working on the day-to-day activities? Is he hiring for positions? Has Don Garber been to STL lately?

I wanna know!

[Sport Billy]

He has been working very closely with the city of Collinsville.
There were feasiblity consultants hired.
The City and Cooper are in their "back and forth" currently trying to finalize a deal.

We are closer now than we have ever been.

The stadium is everything. - IMO if a stadium deal is worked out, St. Louis gets a team.

[McGinty]

Don't worry. Cooper is not going it alone on this.

[FC Uptown]

Probably a very dumb question...but is this a "race" to get these things approved between St. Louis, San Jose, Cleveland, Vegas, etc?

[Sport Billy]

Probably a very dumb question...but is this a "race" to get these things approved between St. Louis, San Jose, Cleveland, Vegas, etc?

Yes, I think so. The league wants 3 more teams before 2010 - and for some unknown reason they really want San Jose - so that leaves about 6 other cities fighting for 2 spots - hopefully St. Louis and Philly get those

[FC Uptown]

Yes, I think so. The league wants 3 more teams before 2010 - and for some unknown reason they really want San Jose - so that leaves about 6 other cities fighting for 2 spots - hopefully St. Louis and Philly get those

Thank you. I am intrigued about Vegas though, aren't you? And why are they talking about a 2nd NY team very strongly again? (Recent MLS game).

[sirfallsalot_2000]

(My appologies to any SJ fans...but I am entitled an opinion)

I am very frustrated with the San Jose news. It was my understanding that every expansion team starting with Toronto would need a stadium deal to get an MLS team. For them to all of a sudden declare "We will get a stadium, so give us a team now" seems to be a mistake. I hope San Jose gets a stadium soon....or they will be in the same boat as before.

I certainly feel a race between expansion cities. To me it looks like SJ, Philly, StL, Seattle and Cleveland are all racing to get a stadium deal. The disadvantage we are in is that we do not have a stadium to play in for half a season while a stadium is built. Everyone else does. Which makes it a race for a stadium....which is why the SJ news annoyed me.

So to me it is a race. I am confident Cooper and CO. are aware of the timelyness involved. It is all about the stadium deal. COME ON COLLINSVILLE!

[SetPeace]

The only strike against St. Louis now is that there doesn't seem to be an option to play somewhere for the first year or two until a stadium is ever built. San Jose, Philly, Seattle, and Cleveland could house their teams at temporary sites until their new homes are ready to go. The only place that seems viable for St. Louis would be the EJ Dome. Would MLS allow games to be played there for a short time? I guess another option would be Hermann Stadium at SLU, but the college administration seems to be cool to that idea, unless they have a change of heart.

The expansion talk that has me puzzled is that 2nd team in New York baloney. I know Giants Stadium isn't a great venue for the Red Bulls, but honestly, if they can't draw more than 12,000 fans in the largest metro area in the U.S., why would anyone think they could support a second team? I hope the new stadium in Harrison is a boon to Red Bulls fans--they are playing so well now it's a shame they can't get more people out to watch them (yeah, I know the weather they've had so far for many home matches pretty much sucks, but that too should improve).

[McGinty]

(My appologies to any SJ fans...but I am entitled an opinion)

I am very frustrated with the San Jose news. It was my understanding that every expansion team starting with Toronto would need a stadium deal to get an MLS team. For them to all of a sudden declare "We will get a stadium, so give us a team now" seems to be a mistake. I hope San Jose gets a stadium soon....or they will be in the same boat as before.


I admit that the possibility of granting SJ a team with no stadium doesn't sit well with me even though I would kind of like to see SJ/Bay Area represented. I just don't like the precedent.

Hopefully, this merely is a sign of the league merely being determined to get the Quakes back in the league as a sign of the league's strength.

[nobody]

Sorry to anyone in San Jose, but you had a team and you didn't show up. MLS needs to give someone else a chance before they let San Jose or anyplace else that looses their team a second strike. New York's finalyl getting their one team together at least on the field. Let 'em see how things go once they get in a stadium and then revisit.

Hopefully, MLS is doing the smart thing and waiting to give a team to whichever of the cities have a stadium signed, sealed and delivered. I frankly think watching games on TV in the giant empty stadiums is about as bad as it gets for league PR. I personally think MLS is better off standing pat than expanding into a market that's just going to look bad.

We get a stadium deal done here and we can stop fretting about who's gonna sneak in ahead of us. Unfortunately, the sad fact is that a stadium is gonna need some help from whatever locality it's gonna be located in and that's just a really hard sell these days. Fortunately for St. Louis in the race, we're not the only place that has to deal with the same problematic issues.

[CS_Pretzel]

I was reading Saint Louis Sports Magazine today and saw that Jeff Cooper is ranked 6th among Sports Business Most Influential. Did anyone else see this?
http://mag1.olivesoftware.com/ActiveMagazine/welcome/SLSM/SLSM_06_2007.asp
Click on the magazine and then look on page 54.

[Steamer]

I hate to be Debbie Downer, but I don't think a stadium in Collinsville or anywhere in Illinois is a good idea. In fact, I think it's a recipe for disaster.
A STL soccer team needs to be in STL, or you're going to lose a huge possible fan base.
Although it's a goofy thing, since Collinsville is right across the river, Missourians aren't going to make that drive. STL metro people have a thing about crossing bridges. 10,000 a game would be a stretch.
You can get to any part of the STL area in about a 1/2 hour, but for too many, they won't drive "all the way over there."

[Sport Billy]

I hate to be Debbie Downer, but I don't think a stadium in Collinsville or anywhere in Illinois is a good idea. In fact, I think it's a recipe for disaster.
A STL soccer team needs to be in STL, or you're going to lose a huge possible fan base.
Although it's a goofy thing, since Collinsville is right across the river, Missourians aren't going to make that drive. STL metro people have a thing about crossing bridges. 10,000 a game would be a stretch.
You can get to any part of the STL area in about a 1/2 hour, but for too many, they won't drive "all the way over there."


I don't mean to put you down, you came to the party late.
We've discussed this 1000 times.
Most of us would like the SSS to be "somewhere else".

The fact is, as it stands, Collinsville is the ONLY choice. That's where the investors are looking. We cannot do anything about it.

If having a team in the area meant I would have to drive to Imperial - I'd do it.

A team in Collinsville is 1000% better than no team at all.

[ajd212]

I don't mean to put you down, you came to the party late.
We've discussed this 1000 times.
Most of us would like the SSS to be "somewhere else".

The fact is, as it stands, Collinsville is the ONLY choice. That's where the investors are looking. We cannot do anything about it.

If having a team in the area meant I would have to drive to Imperial - I'd do it.

A team in Collinsville is 1000% better than no team at all.


I am in total agreement with Sports Billy here.

[Steamer]

I realize that you may have discussed this before, but my point was that it's a horrible idea. What good is getting a team, if it's doomed to fail?
You & I may support a team, no matter where they play, but most metro residents won't.

[sirfallsalot_2000]

Isn't that what the consultation study was designed to figure out? If an MLS team could excell in Collinsville or any other area of STL? Still waiting on those results btw. St. Louis is expanding east and west, and its a matter of time before people deal with that. Of course, it might be 20 years, but lets hope for the soccer team its sooner.

[Sport Billy]

I realize that you may have discussed this before, but my point was that it's a horrible idea. What good is getting a team, if it's doomed to fail?
You & I may support a team, no matter where they play, but most metro residents won't.


But I don't understand your point.

We have a chance of getting a team in Collinsville.
We have no chance of getting a team anywhere else.
The team in Collinsville may or may not fail - we really don't know.

So you would rather have no team than have a team that may fail? :confused:

I just don't understand that.

You cannot argue that the Collinsville move will prevent someone from going forward in St. Louis. The league has been around for 11 years and no one in St. Louis has stepped up.

If Cooper wants to give it a run in Collinsville - all the best.

Yes, I think there are better locations - but no one is seaking to build in those locations.

Collinsville is our only shot so I'm behind it 100%

Better to have loved and lost than never loved ;)

[jasontoon]

I hate to be Debbie Downer, but I don't think a stadium in Collinsville or anywhere in Illinois is a good idea. In fact, I think it's a recipe for disaster.
A STL soccer team needs to be in STL, or you're going to lose a huge possible fan base.
Although it's a goofy thing, since Collinsville is right across the river, Missourians aren't going to make that drive. STL metro people have a thing about crossing bridges. 10,000 a game would be a stretch.
You can get to any part of the STL area in about a 1/2 hour, but for too many, they won't drive "all the way over there."

So what you're saying is, cities like Dallas, Chicago, LA, and Boston have better soccer fans than St. Louis - fans who are willing to drive a little bit to get to the games. Is that really a conclusion you agree with?

I hope we get the chance to find out whether the Collinsville Chicken Littles are right. If the team fails because it's in Collinsville, than St. Louis doesn't deserve a team.

Personally, I think these fears are vastly overblown. Have a little faith in your fellow fans. If Fire supporters can make the trek to Bridgeview, if Dallas fans can find their way to Frisco, what makes you think St. Louis fans will refuse to go to Collinsville? And I mean something a little more concrete than your gut feeling that "STL metro people have a thing about crossing bridges."

[timpcrk]

Also, the way I understand it is that Frisco is nowhere near Dallas, about an hour away. Bridgeview is a pretty good distance from downtown Chicago the way I understand it too, and with their traffic....

But Collinsville is only twenty minutes at most from downtown St. Louis and with the interstates all the people north of the city wouldn't even have to go through downtown.

Coming from Indiana, the Collinsville location is actually closer for me.:p But I'd just as soon go into the city after driving 150 miles.:cool:

[EastSider]

But Collinsville is only twenty minutes at most from downtown St. Louis and with the interstates all the people north of the city wouldn't even have to go through downtown.


That twenty minutes from downtown will likely cover the parking of your car and probably the walk to the gate. The proposed location in Collinsville is more convenient than many think. With improvements to the I-255 interchange that is right next to the site, and updating some of the other access roads in the area, traffic in and out should be a breeze.