By Jim Baer
In 1977, the greatest soccer star in history, Brazil’s Pele,
played against the St. Louis Stars of the old North American
Soccer League at Busch Stadium. Cars were parked as far away
as Tucker Boulevard as throngs of soccer fans jammed the home
of the Cardinals to see Pele and the New York Cosmos perform.
The scene was befitting of St. Louis, the undisputed soccer
capital of the United States.
Thirty years later, the NASL is gone. In its place is the stronger,
more promising Major League Soccer. Pele long has retired, but
David Beckham—arguably the equivalent of Pele to today’s generation—plays
in MLS. And the Stars are gone, but Jeff Cooper, a highly-successful
attorney from East Alton, Ill., is determined to return professional
soccer to St. Louis. He is proposing to build a stadium and
development in Collinsville, Ill., designed to attract an expansion
MLS franchise.
The proposal almost stunned the staid city council of historic
Collinsville. “When I saw it,” says Collinsville Mayor Stan
Schaeffer famously said, “I was expecting a stadium… and I got
a suburb.”
St. Louis Soccer United—a group headed by Cooper—has put a $400-plus
million stadium, infrastructure and the entire 400-acre lifestyle
development into the hands of Collinsville’s elected officials
for a decision, which is expected Sept. 10. The presentation
of the proposal was met with applause Aug. 13 in Collinsville,
where RCGA President and CEO Dick Fleming endorsed the plan
to the City Council in front of dozens of citizens and soccer
fans that are ready to support St. Louis Soccer United and our
own franchise in the growing MLS.
The centerpiece of the proposal is an 18,900-seat cantilevered
stadium, essential if a return of professional soccer to this
region is to become reality. St. Louis had a taste of pro soccer
until the time the Stars of the NASL bolted for Anaheim in 1978.
What came next was indoor soccer, with a run of teams including
the St. Louis Steamers, the Storm and the Ambush—and Steamers
again—playing at the old Arena on Oakland Avenue, the Family
Arena in St. Charles and the then Savvis Center downtown. They’ve
come and gone, but that was indoor soccer. MLS soccer is the
genuine article, true to St. Louis’ soccer roots.
The development proposal, targeted for the apex of Interstates
255 and 55-70 with Horseshoe Lake Road to the north (a farmers’
field today), will represent a master planned mixed-use property
development program by a team of nationally-acclaimed planners
and urban designers, that will change the city’s landscape stunningly.
Eventually, plans call for over 1,000 homes on the 400-acre
tract, miles of walking trails and plenty of green space.
In addition to the partially covered state-of-the-art stadium,
the proposal includes eight fully lit FIFA (Federation of International
Football Association)-approved synthetic turf fields and a professional
grass training pitch. Also, a new urbanism-styled “village”
development will include retail, two hotels, restaurants, office
and residential uses of approximately 400 acres with a mixed-use
main street and town square, too.
“There is no city in the United States that is more deserving
of Major League Soccer—and more ready for it—than St. Louis,
says Cooper, chairman of St. Louis Soccer United. www.stlouissoccerunited.com.
“Equally important, we’d be the ideal expansion site for Major
League Soccer (MLS) with our central location, population base
(2.7 million regionally and 25,000 in Collinsville) media market
size and passion for soccer at all levels. It’s a perfect marriage
and waiting to happen.”
The proposed location is just 10 minutes from downtown St. Louis,
the epicenter of more than 300,000 soccer players in youth programs
on both sides of the river. Additionally, more than 125 high
schools have boys and girls soccer teams, and soccer is the
dominant sport at Saint Louis University, Southern Illinois
University Edwardsville (returning to NCAA Division I status)
and other regional universities and colleges. St. Louis’ soccer
history is unparalleled.
Self-employed graphic artist and pro and college soccer announcer
Bill McDermott has followed the sport for nearly 35 years as
a player and ESPN commentator.
“Of all the people to do this project, and make the effort,
this is clearly the group, headed by Jeff Cooper, to get it
done.” McDermott says. “With the growing popularity of soccer
in the United States, St. Louis has to be involved.”
And they need to be involved quickly. Major League Soccer intends
to expand from 13 to 16 teams by 2009 and already San Jose has
been admitted as the next franchise in, beginning play next
season. That leaves St. Louis as a candidate to fill one of
the two remaining expansion openings.
It bears repeating, however, that the league will not grant
a franchise to St. Louis—or likely any expansion candidate market—until
stadium planning and funding is complete.
“Don’t get this wrong, but U.S. soccer is not European soccer
or South American soccer where teams dominate all sports competition,”
McDermott says. “U.S. soccer will not replace Major League Baseball
or the National Football League,” but St. Louis can draw 18,900
a game and keep the stadium full.
“If this (plan) does not work, it will never work at all. I
applaud Jeff (Cooper) and his group for their efforts.”
Design plans reveal a structure fascinatingly similar to England’s
venerable Wembley Stadium, on a much cozier level.
“We didn’t have that in mind when we drew it up, but it kind
of looks that way and has that feel,” says Cooper.
The soccer-specific stadium is made to capture the intimacy
and excitement of the European game. The roof structure will
fully cover the seating areas and is designed to mitigate inclement
weather conditions, while holding in the crowd noise.
The stadium will easily accommodate musical concerts, a la’
other new MLS recently constructed stadiums in Denver, Chicago
and Dallas, with Salt Lake City—owned by Blues Chairman and
owner Dave Checketts—in the pipeline to join the new line of
MLS stadiums in 2008.
Cooper anticipates strong rivalries with other Midwestern cities,
such as Dallas, Chicago and Kansas City. The team will be known
as a St. Louis club, but with Collinsville as its home. And
Collinsville, as a location, makes a lot of sense.
Located in the nerve center of Madison County with views of
the Gateway Arch and the St. Louis skyline easily visible from
the stadium site, Collinsville and its 25,000 residents claim
the charm and feel of an old town (celebrating its 200th anniversary
in 2010) with all the modern amenities. Collinsville High School
always has had a solid soccer program, winning four state titles,
and boasts Joe Reiniger, who played professionally for several
indoor teams after a brilliant career at SIUE.
Mayor Schaeffer adds, “We are looking at a development of additional
housing which encompasses the ‘new urbanism’ concept. Our city
is on the cusp of a new rise in economic development. Coincidental
with that rise, we have been encouraging quality stock. We look
forward to the challenge.”
RCGA Chief Economist Bryan Bezold estimates that the construction
of the stadium, retail, and youth soccer complex components
will support 2,764 jobs, with an indirect impact of 4,843 jobs,
for a total employment impact of 7,607 jobs in Madison and St.
Clair Counties.
Once complete and operating, the total annual employment impact
(direct and indirect) of the youth soccer complex will be 601
jobs; the employment impact for the stadium (and team) will
be 350 jobs; and the total employment impact of the retail operations
will be 1,554 jobs. This is a total (direct and indirect for
all three components) annual employment impact of 2,505 jobs
in Madison and St. Clair Counties, Bezold notes.
“The total annual impacts in dollars are $26.5 million for the
stadium, $47.9 million for the youth soccer complex, and $147.2
million for the retail. This is a total annual impact of $221.6
million on Madison and St. Clair counties,” Bezold concludes.
Cooper sees this as a win-win proposition. “If you look at the
history of Major League Soccer, teams who own their own stadiums
break even on the proposition,” he notes. “We see the development
of the commercial and residential portion as our safety net.
The mixed-use approach is what is working today.”
Cooper is co-owner of Simmons-Cooper, the law firm is moving
its East Alton offices to the new development. Cooper prepped
at Granite City and played soccer at DePauw University, Greencastle,
Ind. His partner John Simmons is a very active athlete. The
chief architect from the design firm 360 Architecture of Kansas
City, Mo., is a former soccer player.
Like McDermott says, the time to bring professional soccer back
to St. Louis is now. Officials on the Collinsville City Council
are poised to make it all happen.
And by the way, the name of the newly-proposed team? “Too early
for that,” says Cooper. St. Louis United has a nice ring though.
