Another story from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the plans being made public as much as 10 days in advance so everyone can see what Collinsville is voting on. My favorite line: Cooper said he is so confident in the project that he wants residents to be given the opportunity to see any plans "so the public has a chance to shoot holes in it."
Maybe this'll work: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...3AEC54818CF19C4C8625734400037BB1?OpenDocument
oh good grief. New Urbanism = nice multifamily units... this isn't gonna be squalor housing, its probably going to be nice condo's/townhomes to draw the yuppie/dink (young urban professional/dual income no kids) crowd in
no, not at all, its a great thing, but people hear "multifamily" over here and they instantly think Section 8 housing (and not homes for Chicago Fire fans)
As I see it, given that the river is a psychological "Terminus Est" an attractive living area might build bridges to St.Louis proper...Or so I hope at least.
I thought I fixed that, though. Whatever. I really think this might lead to a new attitude about the east side. I'm already a convert.
And it's about damn time. I remember when telling people I was from Edwardsville would get the same reaction if I said I was from Ulaanbaatar. I'm glad that not only will this land us an MLS team, but it will also help to further change perceptions about Metro East...even if it is Collinsville.
I'm from St. Louis (Missouri side) and, I'd have to say, I don't think I can recall ever hearing anyone bash the Metro-East. Where are you hearing this from? Perhaps I don't know a great deal about the finer points of Belleville vs. Collinsville, Edwardsville vs. Granite City, etc. but I really couldn't tell you too much about the difference between Affton vs. Fenton or Ellisville vs. Ballwin, either, probably because I've only lived in St. Charles and U-City (whilst in STL, that is). I think it's safe to assume that most St. Louisans with half a brain are aware that there is a vast difference between East St. Louis and the rest of the towns/suburbs that comprise the Metro-East; I don't personally anticipate this alleged negative perception as being a barrier to the popularity of an MLS team located in Collinsville.
I wouldn't say truly "bashing" the Metro-East. I think people were always considered part of the St. Louis area, but I often noticed an assumption that living in Illinois essentially meant you lived in a rough neighborhood or just some quaint little town.
This is the conversation I've been having with casual fans (before the stadium announcement) Me: Yeah, we might get an MLS team, and they're looking at Collinsville for the stadium.... "Why not downtown?" "Isn't that in Illinois?" "I'm not driving that far" "It won't work if they build in Illinois. Where can they build in Missouri?" However, since the stadium announcements I have found many "real" soccer fans who would gladly drive to Illinois. But you can see the bias. Another example: I wanted to take my youth group to an event to Bellville, only to find out almost 0 people go from St. Louis. The reason, it's in IL. One person said "It's only a river, but it might as well be an ocean." Another called it "Ill-annoying". Ok, I liked that last one.