Shane Graber
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
August 14, 2007

Monday's gathering felt more like a sports pep rally than a City Council meeting, like the home team was about to head in to the big game.

A dozen jersey-clad soccer fans outside City Hall here sang "Go, Jeff Cooper, Go Jeff Cooper," while one member pounded on a drum. Some supporters wore T-shirts that said: "MLS in the STL — The Time is Now." 

Cooper is the Metro East attorney who laid out plans before council members to bring a professional soccer team and a $100 million stadium complex to town.

The massive development would include an 18,500-seat stadium, two hotels, at least two restaurants, about 1,000 single-family homes, several youth soccer fields and nearly 500,000 square feet of office and retail space.

Cooper's business group, St. Louis Soccer United, wants to land a Major League Soccer expansion team that would begin play by the 2009 season. The proposed 400-acre project is located at Interstate 255 and Horseshoe Lake Road.

Councilman Lisa Ciampoli, the only member to ask Cooper questions during the meeting, said she liked the soccer idea, but was concerned about setting up a special taxing district that would keep the tax money in the complex rather than in other areas like local school districts.

She also asked what Cooper thought the future of Major League Soccer was. Cooper joked that the only thing that would keep the league from succeeding is nuclear war.

Not everyone was ready to bang on the support drum. Evans Newstrom, a Collinsville resident, opposed what he called closed-door negotiations so far between the city and Cooper.

He told council members that the government should avoid partnering with private businesses on development projects, and he urged an independent study of Cooper's proposal.

Cooper is expected to ask officials for a commitment of about $20 million that the city would get by issuing bonds. The money could be paid back from sales taxes collected on purchases and tickets for events at the complex.

Dick Fleming, president and chief executive officer of the Regional Chamber & Growth Association, told the council that the project would stimulate economic activity in the region. His group's chief economist said the construction process would employ 7,600 new workers, and more than 3,000 jobs would be generated once the complex is complete.

It would have a $221.6 million impact on St. Clair and Madison counties, Fleming said.

Monday's presentation was just an overview of the project. The City Council is expected to vote Sept. 10 on whether to move forward.