The Charlotte MLS bid by SMI President & CEO Marcus Smith "is a go," according to Erik Spanberg of the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL. Smith yesterday said that his investment group was "in the process of completing its application and would submit it to league headquarters by the end of the day." The decision comes after a week of "uncertainty set off by city government opting against a scheduled vote on Jan. 27" to spend $43.75M of tourism tax revenue to "help fund a 20,000-seat soccer stadium." Last Thursday Mecklenburg County commissioners "approved a proposal to invest" $43.75M of property tax money and provide a 16-acre site assessed at $13M at no charge to Smith. Bids are due today, and Smith said that MLS "granted an extension allowing the additional time for City Council to consider taking a longer look at a possible stadium investment" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/30). SMI Chief Strategy Officer Mike Burch said that Smith will "ask the city for the original request" of $43.75M. Burch added that he "believes council members will ultimately vote for subsidizing the project." Burch said that there is "no deadline for the city to decide whether it will subsidize the project, though the sooner it does, the better" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1/31).
HAND-DELIVERED: NASL Indy Eleven President Jeff Belskus yesterday confirmed that Owner Ersal Ozdemir and the city are "pursuing one of the four MLS expansion openings." SI.com's Brian Straus noted Ozdemir will "deliver the application by hand" to the league office in N.Y. today. Indianapolis is the "12th city to declare its MLS intentions." Belskus said that the team's MLS stadium will be a "public-private partnership and that Ozdemir and his unnamed partners would be kicking in a 'significant amount of private money.'" Ozdemir will "remain the majority owner" (SI.com, 1/30).
METRO MEETUP: In Nashville, Joey Garrison notes Nashville Mayor Megan Barry hopes to "finalize a funding proposal" for a new MLS stadium at The Fairgrounds Nashville by the end of June. Barry said that she is "seeking a 'private-public partnership.'" Barry, Ingram Industries Chair John Ingram and Nashville businessman Bill Hagerty, who organized the city’s MLS Steering Committee last year, are "meeting with MLS officials at the league’s office" in N.Y. today. Any stadium proposal for the fairgrounds would "require approval from the Metro Council, Metro Board of Fair Commissioners and likely the Nashville Sports Authority" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 1/31).
UNDER THE ARCH: In St. Louis, Faulk & Addo note St. Louis Aldermen yesterday "voted 17-9 to advance a bill that spells out wording that would appear on the ballot if the proposal for financing a soccer stadium wins board approval." The plan "calls for taxpayers to fund" $60M and private investors to spend about $95M to "build a 22,000-seat stadium." The stadium measure "would need the mayor’s signature, then city attorneys would petition a circuit judge to put the measures on the April 4 ballot." The board "missed the 10-week cutoff last week for placing measures directly on the ballot" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/31).
