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Potential MLS Ownership Group Could Ask St. Louis Taxpayers For Some Stadium Funding

St. Louis residents "could be asked to help pay" for a $200M MLS stadium as prospective owners "look to field a team" there by '20 or '21, according to a front-page piece by Mike Faulk of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. SC STL ownership group Vice Chair Jim Kavanaugh said that private investors "would cover" at least 60% of the stadium costs, and the facility would be "owned by the city of St. Louis." The ownership group said that the issue "could be on the municipal election ballot April 4." Terms of the ballot proposition "would have to be vetted by public commissions and ultimately voted on by the Board of Aldermen." Members of the ownership group said that MLS Commissioner Don Garber is "supportive of the group," and other league execs also have been "involved in discussions for the group to bring a team to St. Louis." Faulk reports Garber’s statements "likely mean another hopeful ownership group, Foundry St. Louis, is on the outside looking in as plans develop." The SC STL ownership group would "cover the entire expansion fee MLS charges new teams." Kavanaugh said that the stadium would be "built to hold 20,000 but designed in a way that could expand to more than 28,000." Kavanaugh, who is also a member of the Blues ownership group, said that it is "possible the investor group could grow over time, specifically to involve more local investors" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 11/18).

SC STL OWNERSHIP GROUP MEMBERS
Former A-B President Dave Peacock
Celtics co-Owner Paul Edgerley
Tortoise Capital Advisors co-Founder Terry Matlack
Lodging Hospitality Management Chair & CEO Bob O'Loughlin
Indians Vice Chair John Sherman
Bain Capital Managing Dir David Gross-Loh
Hermann Companies President, Chair & CEO Robert Hermann Jr.

ROCKIN' THE SUBURBS? Kavanaugh said that he has "had talks with St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon about the development." In St. Louis, Brian Feldt reported St. Louis County as of now "would not be on the hook to pay for any of the stadium costs." But Kavanaugh said that he has "had discussions with St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger about potential practice facilities in the county, which could require financial support from the county" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/17).

MIAMI SPICE: In Miami, Douglas Hanks reports David Beckham's representatives on Thursday "moved to jump-start a stalled effort to build a Miami soccer stadium by bringing potential investors to a pitch by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez." The investors "weren’t identified, but the sales pitch apparently involves a new set of potential financiers in a project that has been courting deep pockets since the start." Two sources said that Bucks co-Owner Wes Edens is "no longer in the mix as a potential investor." Neisen Kasdin, a Miami lawyer and lobbyist representing Beckham’s group, said that Gimenez "met with the investors in the downtown offices of Akerman, the law firm where Kasdin is a partner." Hanks notes the meeting "marks the first public bid by the Beckham group to revive momentum" (MIAMI HERALD, 11/18).

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