Scottrade, Soccer Stadium Bills Squeeze Through Ways & Means

Source: stlouis.cbslocal.com - Wednesday, February 01, 2017
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – The St. Louis Aldermanic Ways & Means Committee Wednesday put their stamp of approval on a pair of controversial sports-related funding measures. Up first was Board Bill #246, which would see the city help pay for upgrades to the 23-year-old Scottrade Center. It was forwarded by Board president Lewis Reed. “The NCAA and others now know that the city has begun to take the steps neccesary to assure that we can become competitive,” Reed said after the committee approved the measure on a 5-4 vote. As amended, the plan would now attract funding to pay off the debt through an increased number of revenue sources. $800,000 in funding currently going toward debt payments on the Kiel Opera House would be shifted to nearby Scottrade in 2021. That would accrue up to $21 million over the following 27 years. Rendering courtesy of HOK Then it was on to Board Bill #290, the financial package for a new soccer stadium near downtown that would serve as bait for an MLS expansion team. Here there was considerable pushback from a couple of committee members, including 18th Ward Alderman Terry Kennedy. “The motivation here is not solving the crime problem, the motivation here is not ending poverty, and the motivation here is not ending disenfranchisement. It’s making money and *quote* enjoying ourselves,” Kennedy complained. “It is difficult for someone like me who grew up in St. Louis, in a disenfranchised community, to become excit

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