ST. LOUIS (KMOX) — It’s a big day for football fans of both kinds.
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber is visiting St. Louis to meet with Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and STL NFL Task Force co-chair Dave Peacock along with other local leaders.
Garber will learn more about the city’s potential as a home for an MLS expansion club that would play its home games at the proposed new riverfront stadium in downtown St. Louis. The facility proposal is part of an effort to keep the NFL’s St. Louis Rams from relocating to Los Angeles. Renderings of the stadium have included the venue being used for concerts and soccer games.
New renderings of proposed St. Louis NFL stadium (Credit: HOK)
Peacock said last month that the success of the St. Louis Football Club team, which is in the USL league, will make the best case for an MLS team.
“I’m excited with what’s going on with the USL team,” Peacock said. “The fact they’re getting a lot of fan support … that’s typically how Major League Soccer has made its way into a market.”
Garber will also talk with soccer leaders, and he’ll helm a rally at Ballpark Village at 4:00 on Tuesday.
Soccer Broadcaster Bill McDermott says that there’s a reason the commissioner is here. He believes that the city is close to landing a Major League Soccer team.
“It’s going to happen somewhere along the line here in our lifetime,” says McDermott. “There’s more optimism now then there has been in the past, yes.”
The leading question is what would the ownership look like? Los Angeles is expected to pay a $110 million expansion fee.
McDermott says the heritage and legacy of St. Louis soccer has the commissioner’s attention, but the real path to a team is through high ticket sales for the St. Louis Football Club team.
Meanwhile, the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders are adding a heavy hitter to their bid for a new stadium in Carson, California. According to the Los Angeles Times, Carmen Policy, former president of the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns, has joined their effort.
NFL owners are meeting in San Francisco. They’ll get an update on both the Carson teams and Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s Inglewood stadium plan.
On Monday, San Diego released its plan for a $1.1 billion stadium to keep the Chargers.
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