St. Louis Stadium Moving Forward http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...63307413807C4F58862573330011007E?OpenDocument Some pretty exciting news for us that live in the STL....
Them vs. The Orange Seats isn't enough? Didn't you guys roll Willie McGee or Vince Coleman's leg in the tarp during a World Series?
Re: St. Louis Stadium Moving Forward Developers are asking the city to shell out $20 mil in bonds... which all things considered isn't that much. I really hope this goes through, hopefully the town fathers in Collinsville see this as a "safe" enough investment.
I must say I'm liking that European style roof on the stadium, although 18,500 seems a tad small for my liking, especially with how surrounded the stadium is, lacking expansion room, unless they plan to expand upwards.
Looks like a really well thought out plan to me. I especially like the fact that the stadium is incorporated into a larger quasi-urban street scene (albeit, one created for just this purpose) instead of sitting like a space ship in the middle of a sea of parking lots, like some of the other "interstate" stadiums that came to my mind when I first heard about this proposal. Also, interesting how the designers share the necessary parking with a couple (or more?) "big box" stores, which idea makes tremendous sense, since the stores require those lots, in any case, to be viable. I have several questions for some of you St. Louis natives. Is the "transit center" on the drawings a reference to the "future light rail" mentioned briefly on the web site? Would you classify the light rail as more "probable" or "possible" at this point? Or is this more a case of the developers trying to cover as many bases as possible? I was just at the DCU game against Galaxy last night, which renewed my conviction that stadium projects like this one are enhanced immeasurably when they provide an alternative means for fans to get to games, instead of forcing everyone into automobiles (or buses). Anyway, the plan looks awesome! I hope the vote goes well! Maybe you all could throw some good luck (and a few prayers - for those who engage in such things) DC United's way. Right now the "Poplar Point Plan" here in DC is pretty unsettled. MLS needs - just absolutely NEEDS - stadium developments like United's plan for Poplar Point and this St. Louis/Collinsville plan. Good luck to you all! Here's to some United v United games in a few years! T
We can only hope that the Beckham effect helps us get PP off the ground. The 11 O'Clock news last night made special mention that Fenty wasn't at the game, but that a turnout like that could show that DC has a hunger for soccer and a SSS.
Currently, that site is not on the light rail route. But it is only a short bus ride away. Also, on the map below, you will see the stadium and nearest light rail stop - also, there is a Indy Track nearby, so expansion of the light rail in that direction might be beneficial. BTW, there is also a large office park across from the stadium location.
I'm not intimately familiar with Metrolink's plans... but there already is a transit rail system in St. Louis. There are 2 major interstates that spur out of downtown St. Louis. One is I-64, which goes straight east to louisville, the other is I-55/70 which goes to Chicago/Indianapolis, and passes through Collinsville. The current metrolink rail system runs along I-64 from Fairview Heights/Scott Airforce base, through East St. Louis, across the river at the Eads Bridge (which is where I kinda personally thought a great location for the stadium would be, into downtown St. Louis (right by the dome, busch stadium, and the arena), and then splits into 2 lines, 1 to the airport and another to some other destination (not entirely sure). I believe there is talk about expanding metrolink north on the Illinois side potentially serve out towards collinsville, but there is nothing set in stone. So to answer your question, there is light rail serving Metro East, but its not guaranteed it would ever spur to collinsville, BUT, light rail systems across the nation are getting more popular and are growing, so its not insane to think it will happen... and a new-urbanist development right off the interstate with a major trip generator (the stadium) would be the type of thing a rail system would want to target as it expands.
Based on KC attendance, which may not be a fair indicator, 18,500 is a reasonable number. The article also mentions beginning play in 2009. No way thats happening. I don't see the stadium being built that quickly and MLS wouldn't want another season with an odd number of teams. The St. Louis Blues owner also owns RSL? Was he planning to move them to STL if they didn't get a stadium? So much info in this article. Already talking about All-Star Games and MLS Cups. Sounds good. Whats the weather like in STL in November? EDIT: Article actually says capacity is 18,900
Beautiful looking development, from the articles I looked at, it seems that the city council is on board with this project. Hopefully it gets approved, the midwest is lacking in the MLS and St. Louis is a great town. Good Luck!
First, KC hardly compares to St. Louis when it comes to soccer. Second 2009 is possible. Chicago Broke ground November 30, 2004 and opened June 11, 2006. Third - if it's expandable, 18,900 is great - eventually, it maybe too small but it will create one hell of an atmosphere - especially with that roof.
True, but Chicago already had a team playing in the league. We've all heard about the issues with scheduling this year having 13 teams. Even if the stadium is ready sometime in 2009, I think the league might want to wait until 2010 to get 2 teams in at the expansion. On another note, these are great new developments for the league. Seems like something new each month. First it was Philly that surprised me with how far along they had come, but this is amazing. A full plan with renderings and financing.
I think future light-rail in this area is more possible than probable at this point. In fact, the reference on the St. Louis Soccer United website you refer to says "it is one of the possible alignments for future light rail expansion." However, this area falls under the Madison County Transit District. The location noted is now part of the MCT Bike Trail network, www.mcttrails.org. This particular trail, the MCT Schoolhouse Trail, is built on the right-of-way of the old Terminal Railroad. So the transit district owns it (I assume) and could supplant the bike trail with light rail if they wished. But there would be other things that need to be considered such where/how to connect to the existing line. The west terminus of the Schoolhouse trail is just north of Gateway Raceway (I-55/70 and IL 203), which is only about 1-2 miles from the existing light rail line. But getting there will require crossing IL203 and Interstate 55/70. That specific area is under study now for reconfiguration in planning for a new bridge over the Mississippi north of downtown St. Louis. I guess it's possible that a new MetroLink line could be a part of that, but it hasn't been mentioned publicly that I am aware of.
Sport Billy: Thanks for posting the map of the area showing the stadium location. Since I've never been to the area, that really helps to give me a feel for how the stadium development is integrated into the area. The office park adjacent to the site should, as you suggest, increase the likelihood of light-rail extension to the site. The map in the slide show led me to believe that this location is much farther removed from the central city than it seems in the photo. IlliniOnFire and EastSider: Thanks, also for your replies. From your responses, and from the content therein, I get the idea that a WHOLE LOT MORE planning and consideration has gone into this development than is apparent from the slide show or a quick read of the "United" site. Thanks for taking the time to educate me about this. Again, "GOOD LUCK!" with the upcoming vote. This project seems like a real winner to me, and if that turns out to be the case, it will be a real winner for all of us MLS fans.
Madison County does have future plans for Metrolink, and it's in the planning stages. It's likely the first leg of the Metrolink will get built to Granite City, which is a closer bus trip , from the stadium site.
You say tomayto I say tomahto Just kidding - thanks for clearing that up. Actually, I like Indy/F1/Grand Prix but don't care for NASCAR
Great news for St Louis. The city needs a franchise in msl. I love the plans for the stadium, this would also be a great new home and recruiting tool for SIU-E also, if the planners could lure Legoland, that is trying to locate in Columbia, they could easily get Metro light rail service. This could be a regional and national mecca of soccer and entertainment. The NCAA would look into using this for soccer tournaments, much as they use the dome for Basketball. Illinois is a hot and underdeveloped area and the time is right to build.
Brilliant! They go in front of Collinsville city council tonight and I am anxious to hear what happens. I personally would love to go these games and would get all my friends to come and I think the Bosnian and Mexican communities would have significant numbers as well. STLSU is brilliant and I can only hope for this to come true. I am however disapointed it is not on the Metrolink stop