Planning for a new St. Louis MLS stadium continues to take shape, as the city submits an application for tax credits to a state board.
MLS approved a bid in August from St. Louis, making the city home to the league’s 28th team. Backed by members of Enterprise Holding’s Taylor family—including Enterprise Holdings Foundation president Carolyn Kindle Betz—and Worldwide Technology CEO Jim Kavanaugh, the St. Louis bid features plans for a new stadium that is expected to anchor redevelopment in the Downtown West district. In addition to the stadium, the scope of the project includes the construction of practice fields and other team facilities.
The project will be primarily funded through private dollars, though tax credits are being sought as part of the ongoing planning process. An application was submitted by the city’s redevelopment agency to the Missouri Development Finance Board, which could consider the request for $15 million in tax credits later this month. Another application is expected to follow next month, helping to line up the tax credits as backers of the project push to complete the stadium in time for the club’s scheduled launch in the 2022 MLS season. More from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
In an application submitted to the Missouri Development Finance Board, the city is asking for $15 million in tax credits that will help pay to prepare the sprawling downtown site.
“(T)he project will enable the St. Louis region to reclaim its regional and national reputation as a three-sport, ‘first-class’ city,” the application notes.
The board will meet in a special session Tuesday and could vote on the tax credits at its regular meeting on Dec. 17.
A second application for another $15 million is expected to be submitted next month. Construction could begin as soon as January, the application notes.
St. Louis is currently slated to begin play in 2022 alongside Sacramento, which, in October, had its expansion bid approved to become the league’s 29th team.
Rendering courtesy HOK and Snow Kreilich Architects.
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