urbanSTL

I have not checked on other MLS stadiums but I’m sure the league has “preferred” or “standard” pitch orientations. I surely wouldn’t want to be a goalie on a pitch that was east west. What a disadvantage that would cause with sunlight in my eyes half of the game.

I was told that someone took the small map I shared here a while ago and showed an HOK architect who is familiar with this project. The architect couldn't confirm that the two blue lines of buildings South of Market would be happening but said that the overall MLS Development would be cool and fun. So we will see what that leads to. 

Kind of weird St. Louis Language Immersion School was able to pick up a good chunk of those parking lots north of Market this Spring. (Not sure what their plans were/are but they are nearby on 18th.) The MLS group really must've not had them in mind at the time of sale but I suspect SLISS will be agreeable to a tidy profit if the land is needed.  

Also, I've feared putting the stadium north of Market might happen -- committing excessive acreage for entertainment purposes is counter-productive for making vibrant downtowns --  but I guess I'll wait and see what's proposed for the area south of Market (if indeed the change in site happens).

LArchitecture wrote:I have not checked on other MLS stadiums but I’m sure the league has “preferred” or “standard” pitch orientations. I surely wouldn’t want to be a goalie on a pitch that was east west. What a disadvantage that would cause with sunlight in my eyes half of the game.

All MLS stadiums have a roughly North-South or Northeast-Southwest pitch orientation except one, Mercedes-Benz stadium, which was built for football, and has a retractable roof anyway.  MLS defers to FIFA on stadium design, which recommends a pitch orientation about 10 to 15 degrees west of North-South.  Most of the recent or planned MLS stadiums seem to follow that recommendation.

Looking forward for an update

urbanitas wrote:

LArchitecture wrote:I have not checked on other MLS stadiums but I’m sure the league has “preferred” or “standard” pitch orientations. I surely wouldn’t want to be a goalie on a pitch that was east west. What a disadvantage that would cause with sunlight in my eyes half of the game.

All MLS stadiums have a roughly North-South or Northeast-Southwest pitch orientation except one, Mercedes-Benz stadium, which was built for football, and has a retractable roof anyway.  MLS defers to FIFA on stadium design, which recommends a pitch orientation about 10 to 15 degrees west of North-South.  Most of the recent or planned MLS stadiums seem to follow that recommendation.

That makes a lot of sense so with that in mind I would assume Pine does get closed but with the new interchange that has been in the works at least 22nd street should be coming through. That means the mega block would be bound by Olive, Market, 20th, and 22nd.

Another thought occurred to me today as well.  I was curious about how many practice fields are required by MLS. What if there are actually going to be 3-4 fields put in this area with one of those obviously being the stadium. That is assuming you don't practice and play games on the same field, which makes sense to me as you would want to keep your stadium grass manicured and ready for games. 

I always thought they would just use the Rams practice facility as long as they can work out a deal for it.

I can’t see it being downtown no matter what they do about it.

^I think the MLS is pushing the idea of a nearby practice field, since the renderings of a lot of the most recent or planned stadiums show one.  I think the idea is that it will be a public field / park when not in use by the team, so it is good community outreach, but I'm sure it is not a requirement.

^What proposed stadiums have adjacent soccer fields?

urbanitas wrote:

LArchitecture wrote:That makes a lot of sense so with that in mind I would assume Pine does get closed but with the new interchange that has been in the works at least 22nd street should be coming through. That means the mega block would be bound by Olive, Market, 20th, and 22nd.

That seems the most likely at this point.  There is a small city park at the northwest corner of Market and 20th Streets (the western end of the Gateway Mall), which complicates things a bit, however.

The owners incorporate a public plaza into the design in lieu of the small city park is a work around I see if this plan is what is coming together
Two anxiously awaited downtown news that came and went in September - MLS stadium renderings (and hopefully confirmation of actual site location) and sale closing on 909 Chestnut tower.   I would assume we will see MLS stadium renderings first at this point.   

They've setup a team name survey.

https://mls4thelou.com/team-name-survey/

wabash wrote:^What proposed stadiums have adjacent soccer fields?

The Sacramento, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and San Diego MLS expansion proposals all show them.  The renderings of the planned stadiums in Miami, Nashville, and Columbus show them, although the last one looks like it is just a placeholder for future development.  DC and Minnesota's new stadiums both had very large adjacent green spaces shown in their renderings, but I can't tell if it is / was intended as a soccer pitch.  

Current MLS stadiums in LA (Galaxy), Montreal, Chicago, San Jose, Dallas, and Philly all have one or more full-size fields a block or so away.  Meanwhile, Colorado's stadium only has 24 fields nearby...no kidding, lol.

dredger wrote:The owners incorporate a public plaza into the design in lieu of the small city park is a work around I see if this plan is what is coming together.

An entry plaza / pocket park could work there, especially if the stadium ends up being oriented a bit to the northwest for the FIFA pitch recommendations.  And, since the stadium and site will be owned by the city (according to the August reporting), they would technically not be removing a city park... 

I've heard an announcement is coming Oct. 9th

I wonder if that announcement will be for the stadium site/plan, or for the team name, or for both. 

I fully expect them to slowly string the announcements along over time, to maintain interest in the club over the next few years. 

urbanitas wrote:^I think the MLS is pushing the idea of a nearby practice field, since the renderings of a lot of the most recent or planned stadiums show one.  I think the idea is that it will be a public field / park when not in use by the team, so it is good community outreach, but I'm sure it is not a requirement.

Saint Louis University has a lovely soccer facility 1 mile west of the stadium site. Some of the Euro clubs practiced there before their games at Busch. 

midwest_best wrote:I've heard an announcement is coming Oct. 9th

Source?

^ Yes. For a single dollar. 

John Coctostan wrote:

urbanitas wrote:^I think the MLS is pushing the idea of a nearby practice field, since the renderings of a lot of the most recent or planned stadiums show one.  I think the idea is that it will be a public field / park when not in use by the team, so it is good community outreach, but I'm sure it is not a requirement.

Saint Louis University has a lovely soccer facility 1 mile west of the stadium site. Some of the Euro clubs practiced there before their games at Busch. 

Good point.  And there are actually 3 full-size soccer pitches around there including the one across Compton at Harris-Stowe.  I don't know if any of those are available to the public though.