Legislation to help fund an MLS stadium in St. Louis "faces further delays" with the city's Board of Aldermen, as the bill "wasn't brought up for a vote" at yesterday's final meeting of the board's '18-19 session, according to Mark Schlinkmann of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Steve Conway, Chief of Staff for St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, said that it "appeared unlikely that backers could have mustered the two-thirds majority of aldermen present required to allow a vote" on the proposal. Conway said that city officials and the local ownership group seeking an MLS team "now must decide whether to continue including" a 1% on-site sales tax to be levied by the port agency as "part of the stadium finding package." Conway added that alternatives that "don't involve the port agency also will be considered." Conway and BOA President Lewis Reed said that they "didn't think the bill's failure" last night would "hinder St. Louis' chances of getting an MLS expansion franchise." Enterprise Holdings Foundation President Carolyn Kindle Betz, one of the leaders of the prospective ownership group, said that the "lack of aldermanic action won't hinder the effort to secure a team." MLS owners are scheduled to meet in L.A. later this week, and will "consider adding one team," with St. Louis and Sacramento as the "leading contenders" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/16).
