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Since it's slow this time of the year...

 

I was was privy to a couple conversations recently (this week and about three weeks ago) between Garber and some that draw some serious water in this town and it turns out MLS is not dead. Looking at a private equity deal that will build the stadium and pay the franchise fee as long as the city cooperates on the land deal. 

 

We should hear more in the next six weeks.

 

Go Bills!

 

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I had the impression that when the tax failed to pass, the MLS made a statement saying that St. Louis, who had been given this extraordinary chance to house an MLS team, had lost its chance forever because they would be finding suitable locations elsewhere. The question in my mind is that since they obviously were they unable to find any other suitable city for this extraordinary chance to house an MLS team, now they are coming back to give us a second extraordinary chance to do the same thing. 

They must really think we cannot see a bad offer when it comes our way. What kind of extraordinary land deal involving the city are they going to demand from us now? They must be getting really worried about trying to get a city, any city, to take their bait. And yes, it is true that St. Louis money must be backing this new attempt to resurrect the MLS. 

The following questions come to my mind: Does the city government recognize the fact that they lack funds to hire more police, that they have over 100 vacancies in the city police force, and that the city is suffering a wave of murders and violence with new shootings occurring frequently? Do they acknowledge the fact that lives, any lives, matter? Do they acknowledge the fact that they just had to pass (I am not sure if the measure passed or not) a new tax to pay policemen? St. Louis City has to be either close to being broke, or else this situation makes no sense. How are they going to offer anyone a significant land deal of any kind?

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8 minutes ago, Old guy said:

I had the impression that when the tax failed to pass, the MLS made a statement saying that St. Louis, who had been given this extraordinary chance to house an MLS team, had lost its chance forever because they would be finding suitable locations elsewhere. The question in my mind is that since they obviously were they unable to find any other suitable city for this extraordinary chance to house an MLS team, now they are coming back to give us a second extraordinary chance to do the same thing. 

They must really think we cannot see a bad offer when it comes our way. What kind of extraordinary land deal involving the city are they going to demand from us now? They must be getting really worried about trying to get a city, any city, to take their bait. And yes, it is true that St. Louis money must be backing this new attempt to resurrect the MLS. 

The following questions come to my mind: Does the city government recognize the fact that they lack funds to hire more police, that they have over 100 vacancies in the city police force, and that the city is suffering a wave of murders and violence with new shootings occurring frequently? Do they acknowledge the fact that lives, any lives, matter? Do they acknowledge the fact that they just had to pass (I am not sure if the measure passed or not) a new tax to pay policemen? St. Louis City has to be either close to being broke, or else this situation makes no sense. How are they going to offer anyone a significant land deal of any kind?

I'm sure some developer or corporation will come out of nowhere to buy that chunk of ground next to Union Station. Any day now I'm sure of it.

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21 minutes ago, The Pelican said:

What the article doesn't tell you is that the Taylor's are the bankroll and it hinges on a quid pro quo a la "the arch" funding. 

An interesting perspective considering the rumor that the Taylor's turned down a solicitation from SCSTL. 

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20 minutes ago, The Pelican said:

What the article doesn't tell you is that the Taylor's are the bankroll and it hinges on a quid pro quo a la "the arch" funding. 

May be a dumb question, I know they donated money to arch and other funding projects, what was the quid pro quo aspect? 

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2 hours ago, goonaha said:

An interesting perspective considering the rumor that the Taylor's turned down a solicitation from SCSTL. 

My guess is the Taylors are only interested in playing ball in a deal is if their money invested returns a proportional share of the franchise.  They probably are not interested in their ownership share being diluted by guys(Peacock) getting  an increased percentage because they supposedly can sell the deal.

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3 hours ago, Bills_06 said:

May be a dumb question, I know they donated money to arch and other funding projects, what was the quid pro quo aspect? 

Proposition P,  passed in both the city and the county, established a sales tax to assist in the funding of the CityArchRiver project. I'm guessing he means that the Taylors want a similar regional contribution to match or at least supplement their own funds. (I'd also guess that a certain tech mogul is still involved, but I may be wrong.)

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A lot of guessing going on by some - lets just wait and see what plays out before starting to cook up ideas of what may or may not be happening.  As far as the MLS not having other options that is simply not true.  Several cities are vying for the 2 slots - San Diego for one that actually has a good idea involving the old Qualcom Stadium and SDS but they are a bit behind the calendar just as they were with trying to keep the Chargers once the team got done playing hardball with them.   StL has always been the MLS first choice for some time it only makes sense that they would give us another chance if there really is the assets here to make it work.  All the information in the thread has been good to hear.

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I am sure there is enough private money in St. Louis to fund such a project without need for public money. The problem is that the owners (of the money) are not willing to finance the whole project by themselves. As long as the owners insist in having public financing requiring requiring passage of additional taxes of any kind they can count off the County, as it happened in the prior round. I also tend to believe that the current State Governor is less likely to be supportive of such a project than the prior one was. This leaves St. Louis City, which has significant money problems, to carry the whole burden of the public financing. As a dream a St. Louis MLS team is OK; as a distant possibility it may be OK to muse about this; the real possibility of a St. Louis MLS project that actually succeeds in raising adequate public funding through new taxation schemes is close to nil. 

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Before we start saying "public funding" is all the same lets step back and look at the options that are available.  TIFs are absolutely something that can be done - SLU got it for the Fetz.  Infrastructure work like road work and utilities are routinely provided for big projects like this - Cardinals got that.  Property being made available at bargain prices or given as part of getting the area developed is  done all the time see the arena where the Blues play..  I am not seeing anybody asking for a tax or a vote to be taken.  All of the above are available to the leaders to use as they have for a very long time.  I think this project can happen without small minds blocking it.  All it takes is cooperation.

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That sounds reasonable cheeseman. However it must be pointed out that all of the examples pointed in your post occurred at times when the city was in much better financial shape than it is now, and at times where there was no wave of shootings and murders going on plus an understaffed and underfunded police department which we are having problems paying for. Besides, you or someone else had mentioned the Taylors desired to get a tt for tat project on the lines of what had been done with the Arch. Such a program would most certainly involve new taxes raised in the city as well as the County. To use the alternative methods you describe the Taylors and other money sources plus the MLS would have to settle for such city contributions as building roads, tax breaks, and giving land away for close to minimal prices. In all likelihood such land that can be given away at bargain basement prices would not be the land surrounding Union Station, which may qualify as a decent development future development area for the city.  Such bargain basement land would rationally have to be located within the ample bombed out, razed portion of the city, something the MLS and developers would not approve of in all likelihood. Personally I do not think they would accept the bargain basement location to start with. So, the city is given the choice of giving away some of a prime land site for future development in lieu of offering bombed out land sites, plus road building, plus tax abatement in exchange for the MLS project. You are talking about getting the MLS and the local money guys to accept taking much less than what they are aiming for in a tt for tat program in the likeness of the Arch funding project. That is wishful thinking, not a viable business plan.

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 If you look at the distribution of crime in the city it is not around where the stadium would be built and we all know that people are afraid to go to the Cardinals and Blues games because of all the crime there and by the way at the Fetz also.  A bunker mentality is never healthy for the person or society.  The land that they wanted to use for the soccer stadium to begin with was primarily a highway exchange that the state abandoned and gave back to the city.  Yes I understand that there was other parcels part of it but those may very well still be available for purchase.  I prefer to be a glass half full person on this topic not a glass half empty.  

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26 minutes ago, RUBillsFan said:

Every Business School professor thinks that Amazon should have crashed a long-time ago.  They are right.  But, it didn't.  A child could have told anyone that it wouldn't.  There are somethings in the economy which do not fit a model, but they are still obvious.  MLS is growing because people play a lot of soccer at young ages, and this will not change.  Our culture is growing to embrace it.  It also doesn't hurt that the NFL seems like it is racing towards a collapse. 

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40 minutes ago, AnkielBreakers said:

Every Business School professor thinks that Amazon should have crashed a long-time ago.  They are right.  But, it didn't.  A child could have told anyone that it wouldn't.  There are somethings in the economy which do not fit a model, but they are still obvious.  MLS is growing because people play a lot of soccer at young ages, and this will not change.  Our culture is growing to embrace it.  It also doesn't hurt that the NFL seems like it is racing towards a collapse. 

I am a big believer in the idea that football isn't going to work in the future. But the NFL is far, far, far from a collapse. 

MLS is the equivalent of the Canadian Football League. Sure they are professionals, because they are getting paid, but right now they're a second or third tier pro league in soccer world. It seems to be getting better as more money gets pumped into keeping some of the top American guys local. I just don't see the path where it ever becomes on par with the EPL. Maybe if the US Mens Team puts together a run of world dominance? I don't think the USFL way of buying top players would ever work because it would be impossible to get enough great foreign players to play for a second rate league in their prime. What is the answer to the biggest fundamental problem of the MLS? It isn't a worldwide league like the other big 3 sports in this country. 

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