MLS Expansion - St. Louis not giving up on MLS dream

Jeff Cooper, the lead figure in St. Louis's bid to land a MLS side, has conceded defeat to Philadelphia for the 16th spot in the league and is now focused on winning the 17th.

"'2010 is what we're targeting,' Cooper said."

Since it looks like 2010 will be the year Philadelphia will enter the league, it appears Cooper sees little difference between spots 16 and 17.

His goal now is the same it has been for the last six months, find more investors. He says there has been lots of interest, but not enough have signed on.

For their part, it appears the city of Collinsville is stick with this project meaning that if Cooper brings a team home, the bulldozers will start digging right away on the 400-acre site.

Even without a team, Cooper will be involved with MLS via their marketing arm SUM as he is the owner of on of the new teams in the Women's Soccer League.

I've said it before, had Cooper come along with this bid three years ago, St. Louis would have a team by now. It is only due to the growth of the sport in the US that they do not. Kind of ironic that the city that can very easily argue itself as the cradle of soccer in America is hurt by the growth of the game, but that is the way it is.

My guess on this is Cooper will find some investors in the next few months and the league will go with them as number 17. However, the longer it takes, the more time places like Miami, Montreal, Las Vegas, Portland, etc. have to put together their bids, so Cooper better act fast.

If you are a fan in the St. Louis area, maybe you should follow the Sons of Ben model and get a supporters group together now. You could road trip to Chicago and KC games and make your presence know. I'm sure the folks at St. Louis Soccer United would love it.

MLS Expansion - Philadelphia to officially get team next Thursday - What to call them (with poll)?

After the Delaware River Port Authority signed off on the final piece of the Philadelphia puzzle yesterday, MLS appears ready to make it official, Philadelphia will be the 17th team in the league. The announcement is expect next Thursday (28 Feb) in Chester.

The new Philadelphia team will begin play in their 18,500-seat stadium in 2010. This stadium will be part of a $500 million complex of stores, restaurants and housing in Chester.

The decision is no surprise to anyone paying attention, but as with all things, nothing is official until it is official. This move means St. Louis is now focused on winning the 16th spot. It is not known at this time if the stadium deal the St. Louis group had worked out with the city of Collinsville is still on (it was dependent on MLS awarding the group a team).

As for Philadelphia, it looks like the Sons of Ben finally will have a team to call their own, now we just need to know what to call said team.

According to this MLS video (opens Windows Media Player), the names the SOBs want are either the Philadelphia Athletics and Philadelphia Independence. Which one do you prefer?

MLS Expansion - "It's definitely Philly"

"'It's definitely Philly," said a Major League Soccer source, declining to be quoted by name in advance of an official announcement. 'It's the market size, the ownership group. These are wealthy people. They're going to be strong owners.'"

Failing some sort of 'impossible-to-foresee cataclysm', Philadelphia is set to become the 16th MLS team. League officials and the new team's ownership group have spent the last two days finalizing the draft version of the expansion agreement, while the ownership group has also been talking with Pennsylvania officials concerning how exactly they can use the $47 million in state funding.

This move is in no way unexpected, as the league has wanted to be in Philadelphia since it began in 1996, they just could not find a way to make it work.

St. Louis is the big loser in all this, but lead investor Jeff Cooper is not giving up on the dream as he is now focused on the 17th spot. It is not clear if the city of Collinsville will change their level of support, as most of it was based on landing a team.

No official date has been set for such an announcement, but my guess is right around the start of the MLS season at the end of March.

MLS Expansion - St. Louis stadium gets additional city funding

The Collinsville City Council has approved a TIF plan to help pay for the proposed 400-acre stadium site. The hope is this will help the St. Louis soccer group find the additional investors needed to bring a MLS team to the area. For those wondering, a TIF plan is basically a loan to oneself against the projected increased tax income from a public project.

This is yet another sign of the desire for Collinsville to land a team, but with recent news out of Pennsylvania, it might be a little too late.

The irony of all this is if St. Louis put a bid like this as recently as three years ago, they would probably already be fielding a team. The league has progressed to a point where they can be more selective (or down right demanding) about where they land teams, and this is a good thing. Although I would love to see a team in St. Louis, if it is true that the group does not have the investments needed to make it a success, I can fully understand why the league would not expand there at this time.

That said, Jeff Cooper seems like that exact type of person the league needs to move into the next level. He has the energy and local ties plus is a smart businessman, now he just needs a little extra money to make it happen.

MLS Expansion - Garber says Seattle and an East Coast city next

MLS commissioner Don Garber was impressed with what he experienced in Portland yesterday, but it looks like Seattle will be the city to earn one of the next expansion teams.

"The league probably will name Seattle and an East Coast city as sites for the newest franchises, to begin play in 2009, Garber said. Portland is vying for one of two more expansion teams that would begin play in 2010 or 2011, he said. The competition includes Atlanta, Montreal, San Diego, St. Louis and Vancouver, B.C."

This is the most definitive statement I have seen from Garber concerning the next two expansion teams. Now he did say 'probably' to allow some wiggle room, but it looks like Seattle is indeed on. But what about the East Coast city? If you're in Philadelphia, you got to like the sound of that. The other possible cities are New York or Miami but neither of those cities seems to be as close to a deal as the city of brotherly love.

Which makes me wonder about St. Louis as things have been looking really good there. The City of Collinsville is taking a lot of steps to get the land annexed and rezoned for stadium use and the bond package doesn't seem to be hitting major roadblocks, but then again, maybe more is happening behind the scenes in Pennsylvania.

But back to the article, it seems that PGE Park is a good option for MLS but a few things are needed such as 'grandstand seating on the stadium's vacant east side, a new playing surface and more restrooms and concessions.' If this happens, it means the baseball team needs to move, which would require a new facility to be built, costing around $30 million.

On the plus side, it appears that those in city government are interested in making it happen, however not at the cost of basic services.

MLS Expansion - St. Louis stadium a bit closer

Another piece of the puzzle came together for the St. Louis United soccer group yesterday as the Collinsville City Council has voted unanimously to rezone the property for the 18,500-seat stadium.

Interestingly, not all the land that was rezoned is actually part of Collinsville at the moment as the annexation process is not yet complete. In addition, archaeological and environmental reviews of the site are pending.

Still, it does look like the group is making major progress towards landing a team for the 2009 season.

MLS Expansion - St. Louis area soccer stadium gets initial go ahead

The first hurdle of many has been cleared for St. Louis Soccer United (SLSU) as the city of Collinsville voted to move forward on a pre-annexation agreement. What this means is that the city will work with SLSU to negotiation for annexation of portions of the planned site not currently within city limits.

This is still a long way to a done deal, but with the relatively smooth process up to this point, it does seem that there is a great deal of interest by both parties to make this happen.

MLS President Mark Abbott said of the agreement, "Major League Soccer is pleased with the positive vote from the Collinsville city council to build a soccer-specific stadium and mixed-use development in the city."

"The metropolitan St. Louis area is one of the most passionate and storied soccer markets in the United States. Tonight's vote is a very positive step and we look forward to continuing our discussions to bring a Major League Soccer club to the area."

It seems that the main concern is that money for Collinsville's schools is not diverted to pay for the plan. Both the city and SLSU say that students will not be forgotten.

Overall, more good news for soccer fans in the St. Louis area.

MLS Expansion - St. Louis area soccer stadium goes to a vote tonight

The Collinsville City Council will decide tonight if they are going to go along with St. Louis Soccer United's (SLSU) stadium proposal.

Included in this proposal are an 18,500-seat stadium, 240 hotel rooms, at least two restaurants, several youth soccer fields and nearly 500,000 square feet of office and retail space. The cost is just over $400 million. SLSU's chair Jeff Cooper is asking the city to invest $20 million in bonds to get the project started.

Although a positive vote tonight will not guarantee a MLS side to St. Louis, a 'no' vote will all but kill the dream for now. In addition, any 'yes' vote would probably be dependant on MLS award a team to SLSU in the next 90-days or so.

It seems that there has been only positive coverage of this idea so it looks good to pass, but we will know for sure later tonight.

MLS Expansion - Public to see St. Louis soccer plan

The bid to build a soccer complex in Collinsville, just outside of St. Louis, is heading into the final phase and if bid leader Jeff Cooper has anything to say about it, the public will get to see as much of the proposal as possible.

"I've got to live" in the Metro East, Cooper said. "I don't want people burning down my house because they think I was slipping something by the Collinsville council."

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."

The city council is set to look at the deal at their 10 September meeting. Even if they vote in favor of it at that time, the city will not be tied to the project as it will probably depend on the awarding of a MLS franchise to Copper and St. Louis Soccer United.

The full project will include "an 18,500-seat stadium, 240 hotel rooms, at least two restaurants, several youth soccer fields and nearly 500,000 square feet of office and retail space" and cost about $402 million to build. Cooper is asking the city to become a partner in the deal by issuing bonds as well as pay for some of the infrastructure.

It seems that the only part of the plan with which the city takes issue is the number of homes. Cooper calls for 1600, but the city would like there to be less then that.

With rumors suggesting that MLS will announce at least one expansion franchise in the next 30-60 days, this has got to be good news for soccer fans in St. Louis. If Collinsville agrees to the terms, I don't see how MLS could say no.

MLS Expansion: St. Louis's stadium deal

Co push to bring professional soccer back to the St. Louis area might be about to pay off as his group, St. Louis Soccer United, has proposed a stadium deal to the Collinsville City Council that, if approved, would all but guarantee the city a MLS club.

The $100 million stadium complex includes an "18,900-seat stadium, a hotel, at least two restaurants, about 1,000 single-family homes, several youth soccer fields and nearly 500,000 square feet of office and retail space." Cooper is asking Collinsville to invest $20 million in bonds to get the project started.

As far as the money is concerned, Cooper says, "The city stands to make $40 million to $50 million above and beyond the bonds in the first 10 years. What we're prepared to do is put an $80 million to $100 million investment into Collinsville, and we're asking the city to help us out with some of that with taxes that will be paid off from the project."

If this stadium deal is approved, Cooper believes that it will be ready for the 2009 season.

St. Louis Soccer United launched their web site today to explain their plan for the stadium and for their future club. On the site, they give a great description of the stadium:

The project's soccer-specific stadium will be among the next generation of MLS stadiums striving to capture the intimacy and excitement of the European game. It will incorporate a roof structure which fully covers the seating areas to help mitigate inclement weather conditions and hold in the sound of the crowd. The project design team contributed significantly regarding the stadium's interaction with the surrounding spaces. For example, the orientation of the stadium club and associated veranda to the park and youth soccer pitches (referred to as "the mall") are situated to provide an unobstructed view from the club over the town square and the mall to the downtown St. Louis skyline in the background.

St. Louis is a huge part of America's soccer tradition and it is a shame that MLS is not there. However, it looks like Cooper and Soccer United might just be the perfect group to change all this.