urbanSTL

The Las Vegas Sun seems right on.

Collinsville soccer stadium plan clears a new hurdle

http://www.bnd.com/homepage/story/149069.html





Notice the comments coming from the community.

Councilwoman Lisa Ciampoli expressed some concern that the development will eventually include some condominiums and multifamily housing at a time when the council is trying to cut back on multifamily housing.



But Mann said the type of housing represented in the soccer project is the kind of multifamily development they prefer: the "New Urbanism" concept of mixing lofts and condos with office, retail and entertainment.



"It's not that all multifamily is bad," said Councilwoman Nancy Moss. "It's when it pops up helter-skelter and doesn't go along with the community."



I am sure East St. Louis would love some "evil" dense housing.



Again, put this in the East Side. You won't see any complaints from NIMBY's.

The Metro East has a ridiculously naive perception of multi-unit housing. It's often fueled by fear of crime. But, let's understand, not everyone here is that dense.

I live in a very quiet multi-family complex of 18 units. I guess I can see the perceptions, but hey... Get over it.

You guys are really hung up on this multifamily thing, huh?



Being a resident of Collinsville, I can clearly see why the city is trying to cut down on multifamily units. Take a drive around Collinsville and in this community of 25,000 you will find two housing projects and many other rough apartment buildings. Plus, the newer ones are built of crap. The fact is the developers say that they are going to be building nice condos and blah blah blah and then build crap that eventually gets subsidized.



Not everything is so black and white all the time.

Shimmy wrote:
You guys are really hung up on this multifamily thing, huh?

Yes and no. Yes because I lived in a town where the multifamily housing was definitely home to many of the problems in the area. No because it seems that those posting the comments on the BND.com story are afraid of progress as a whole.

^I see. But as I've said many times before, I think the fear of growth on the eastside is the fear of sprawl taking away the towns. I think people who are not so much into these type of things as we are don't distinguish between sprawl and good growth very easily.



But Mann said the type of housing represented in the soccer project is the kind of multifamily development they prefer: the "New Urbanism" concept of mixing lofts and condos with office, retail and entertainment.



"It's not that all multifamily is bad," said Councilwoman Nancy Moss. "It's when it pops up helter-skelter and doesn't go along with the community."



Nancy Moss happens to be a family friend and I know that she's been 100% for this thing since the beginning. And I agree with her completely. Its not that multifamily is bad, its just Collinsville has a bad history with multifamily. And a lot of multifamily crap has been popping up all over the place overnight.

The problem is not how nice the project looks, its who its being marketed to. The article freaking says that the city prefers this new urban or whatever style. These will probably be a little more high end and not end up being a trouble spot for the city.

I don't think anyone thinks this will become a problem area, which is why everyone on the board is approving of this. From what I understood, the article stated that this is different from the current trend in the city government of trying to cut down on multifamily housing.

Shimmy wrote:The problem is not how nice the project looks, its who its being marketed to. The article freaking says that the city prefers this new urban or whatever style. These will probably be a little more high end and not end up being a trouble spot for the city.

That's true.

ESPN is reporting that Albert is an investor. Great news!



http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story ... s&&cc=5901

ChrisInDownTown wrote:

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:ESPN is reporting that Albert is an investor. Great news!



http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story ... s&&cc=5901

Got an email from Jeff Cooper (you can sign up on the site) regarding the same thing. Is Albert new you think or one of his secret guys? Not sure if this is more of a publicity stunt or is he a real investor?

No way of knowing. Publicity stunt? No, I'm sure he's investing real money.

I think its great that we may have a MLS team, but I have to put in some constuctive criticism.....

This team will be in Collinsville, IL. There will be no tax revenue that the city of St. Louis will benefit from.

I noticed earlier that building it in ESTL would help improve the veiw across the river. Sorry, Collinsville is not that close.

Are they to be named "Collinsville" or "St. Louis"??

Anyways Im done complaining. I think to have its own venue instead of sharing, really brings identity and experience to a new level. As long as there is a Metrolink stop within walking distance, Ill be there with face paint, jersey, and all! YEEEAAA!

pillpusher2007 wrote:I think its great that we may have a MLS team, but I have to put in some constuctive criticism.....

This team will be in Collinsville, IL. There will be no tax revenue that the city of St. Louis will benefit from.

I noticed earlier that building it in ESTL would help improve the veiw across the river. Sorry, Collinsville is not that close.

Are they to be named "Collinsville" or "St. Louis"??

Anyways Im done complaining. I think to have its own venue instead of sharing, really brings identity and experience to a new level. As long as there is a Metrolink stop within walking distance, Ill be there with face paint, jersey, and all! YEEEAAA!

I think you can safely assume they will be named St Louis.

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:

pillpusher2007 wrote:I think its great that we may have a MLS team, but I have to put in some constuctive criticism.....

This team will be in Collinsville, IL. There will be no tax revenue that the city of St. Louis will benefit from.

I noticed earlier that building it in ESTL would help improve the veiw across the river. Sorry, Collinsville is not that close.

Are they to be named "Collinsville" or "St. Louis"??

Anyways Im done complaining. I think to have its own venue instead of sharing, really brings identity and experience to a new level. As long as there is a Metrolink stop within walking distance, Ill be there with face paint, jersey, and all! YEEEAAA!

I think you can safely assume they will be named St Louis.

Yeah, I know, was just being bitter and sarcastic..

Things are getting interesting....



A-B Enters Letter of Intent to Transfer Ownership of Soccer Park to SLSU

Site to Continue Supporting Youth and Amateur Soccer;

Will Also Be Explored for Major League Soccer Stadium Use



March 11, 2009



Anheuser-Busch today announced its intent to transfer ownership of its Soccer Park facility to St. Louis Soccer United (SLSU), the local group working to bring a Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion franchise to the St. Louis area.



Over the next several months, SLSU will work with public officials to explore the feasibility of building an MLS quality, soccer-specific stadium at the site. Anheuser-Busch intends to transfer the Soccer Park location to SLSU even if the site proves to be unworkable for an MLS stadium, with the goal of ensuring it continues to serve St. Louis' amateur soccer community as it has since 1982.



"St. Louis is home to one of the strongest soccer communities in the country," said Dan McHugh, vice president of Media, Sponsorship and Activation, Anheuser-Busch Inc. "The transfer of A-B Soccer Park to SLSU is a community win-win. It supports civic efforts to bring Major League Soccer to St. Louis and preserves a community home for organized youth and amateur soccer."



In addition to leading St. Louis' candidacy to attract an MLS expansion franchise to the area, SLSU owns the St. Louis Athletica team that will begin play with a home match on April 4 in the new Women's Professional Soccer league and partners with the nation's largest youth soccer club following the merger last year between Scott Gallagher, St. Louis Soccer Club and Metro United. The newly merged club was recently named the top club in the nation for its superior youth development program by ClubRank™.



Jeff Cooper, chairman of St. Louis Soccer United, says Anheuser-Busch's donation of Soccer Park enhances St. Louis' MLS bid.



"This is the best situation we could have hoped for," said Cooper. "We have two potential locations for an MLS stadium and youth soccer complex that demonstrates the region's strong commitment to bring Major League Soccer to the undisputed soccer capital of North America."



SLSU also has agreement with the City of Collinsville, Ill., to build a soccer stadium and surrounding youth complex, pending the awarding of an MLS expansion franchise. The organization will continue to work with Collinsville officials while feasibility of the Soccer Park site is explored in the weeks to come.



At present, MLS plans to announce two expansion franchises by March 31. Three cities – Miami, Atlanta and Montreal – have withdrawn from consideration, leaving four contenders: St. Louis, Portland, Ore., Vancouver and Ottawa.



Anheuser-Busch is a charter sponsor of MLS, which began play in 1996, and sponsors each of the league's 14 U.S.-based teams.