After Missouri Governor-elect Eric Greitens called public funding for stadiums "welfare for millionaires", the bill pledging $80 million in public funds for a soccer stadium in St. Louis seemed like a long shot. Now, the bill is officially dead.
Surely the picture above is not some kind of metaphor for Missouri Governor-elect Eric Greitens, a former Navy SEAL, shooting down a proposal for an MLS team in St. Louis that included a hefty chunk of public funding for a new stadium.
That would be ridiculous.
Greitens has once-and-for-all said that state funding will not be used for stadiums if he can help it.
Replacing a stadium that’s been around since 1898 was always going to be a difficult task for Tottenham’s ownership group, but ENIC International and chairman Daniel Levy appear to have gotten what is, for now, known as the Northumberland Development Project just right.
White Hart Lane, home to Tottenham Hotspur since 1899, was limited to a capacity of just over 36,000, and Spurs began exploring options for a new ground as far back as 2006.
There was a time when simply building a soccer specific stadium was setting the bar. Then came the era of enclosed-seaters around 20,000 following the same mold, like Sporting KC, Houston and Dallas. In today’s MLS world, a statement is needed in order to make an impact. Welcome to the "Purple Wall," MLS’s great new attraction.
The MLS recently announced the pricing for the next round of teams to enter the league. With plans to add four more teams in order to reach 28, cities across the US are racing for selection. Long considered a candidate for expansion, St. Louis fans will be frustrated to see comments from the new governor-elect that could push their city down the bid list.