MLS wants St. Louis to secure corporate sponsorships to prove that the market can support a teamHOK
MLS Commissioner Don Garber said that a St. Louis-based ownership group is "just steps away from securing an expansion team," according to a front-page piece by David Hunn of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Garber yesterday met with more than two dozen local execs, and he said the show of support for a possible St. Louis MLS team is "fantastic and remarkable." Garber: "It was among the largest, or, certainly, the most prominent group of 'C-level' leaders in any visit that I've had." However, Garber also indicated that local leaders of the expansion efforts like World Wide Technology CEO Jim Kavanaugh and Enterprise Holdings' Taylor family must "nail down corporate sponsorships, and quickly, to prove to the league's other 27 owners that the St. Louis market can support a team." Sources said that Garber's visit was "part sales meeting" to help Kavanaugh and the Taylors sell sponsorships, and "part status check." Hunn noted Garber will "report to league owners on progress in St. Louis." Enterprise Holdings Foundation President Carolyn Kindle Betz, one of the leaders of the prospective ownership group, said that "if this effort failed, her family would not try again" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 3/12). Kindle Betz said that the meeting "did not include talk of when MLS might award its 28th team" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/11).
