Saint Louis CitySide - An Overview of the City Government of Saint Louis

Saint Louis CitySide - an overview of the City Government of Saint Louis

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St. Louis Front Page presents St. Louis CitySide, an overview of the City Government of Saint Louis. From time to time, we will take an indepth look at many of the projects in which the city is involved and how these projects will affect residents and visitors.

ARCHIVED NEWS

Senate Gives Initial Approval of Funding for Cardinal Ballpark

St. Louis Is One of the Best Places in America to Do Business Says Mayor Francis Slay

Revitalization of Downtown Begins With $35 Million Renovation of Old Post Office

St. Louis Aldermanic Ways and Means Committee Endorses Ballpark Agreement/Summary of Final Agreement

Ballpark Bill Draws Heated Opposition at Public Forum/House Bill NO. 1889

Saint Louis Art Museum Donates $10 Million to 'Heart of the Park' Improvements

St. Louis Lands 2004 U.S. Olympic
Women's Marathon Trials

Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing Site Dedicated

Mississippi River Trail Dedicated

Mayor Slay, Multi-Faith Religious Leaders Encourage Religious Tolerance

Taking Stock of Our City and Our Region

Missouri Attorney General Stops Internet Auction Fraud

St. Louis/East St. Louis Joint Economic Development Initiative Receives Nearly $3 Million in Funding

View of proposed Cardinal Ballpark entrance at Spruce Street - courtesy of St. Louis Cardinals.

St. Louis Cardinals Say Downtown Is No Longer the Most Likely Site for New Ballpark
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), May 17, 2002 - Mark Lamping, president of St. Louis Cardinals, expressed his disappointment in the failure of Missouri legislature to pass the economic package that would provide financial support to build a new ballpark and Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis.

In a press conference at Busch Stadium, following the closure of the 91st Missouri General Assembly session, Lamping stated that the agreement the Cardinals had signed with the City of St. Louis, County and State was no longer in effect. "The Missouri legislature has sent a clear message that the state is not interested in helping keep the Cardinals in downtown St. Louis," said Lamping.

"It is also clear that given the absence of financial involvement from the State and the high ticket taxes charged in the City, it is no longer certain that the new ballpark will be built in the Cardinals preferred location of downtown St. Louis."

"Not withstanding, our disappointment in the lack of action in Jefferson City, the Cardinals are grateful to the elected officials who supported this proposal: Mayor Francis Slay; Senate President Peter Kinder; Senator Maida Coleman; Governor Bob Holden; Representatives Jim Foley and Catherine Hanaway; US Senator Kid Bond, Congressman Dick Gephardt; County Executive Buzz Westfall; and the many legislators and aldermen who voted 'yes' for their parts of this proposal.

We would also like to thank number of organizations, including the Missouri AFL-CIO, the St. Louis Labor Council, Civic Progress, RCGA, Downtown Now, the Regional Business Council, the Missouri Chamber, the Clergy Coalition and numerous other organizations and individuals for their support.

"While the failure of the legislature to act prevents the state from participating in the funding of the new ballpark, that fact will have absolutely no impact on the Cardinals' decision to move forward with plans to replace Busch Stadium. The economics of staying in an aging Busch Stadium demand that we act now. The actions of teams we must play each season require it. And our fans deserve it," emphasized Lamping.

"Therefore, the Cardinal organization has no choice but to begin exploring alternative locations in the St. Louis area to build the new ballpark," he stated.

"To that end, we have taken the following steps:

1. We have informed the Major League Baseball that it is unlikely that we will be able to host the 2006 All Star game in a new downtown St. Louis ballpark. We have also notified the commissioner that we are considering other venues within our approved MLB operating territory. In addition, we have asked Major League Baseball to hold the 2006 All Star Game date as we intend to have a new ballpark open somewhere in the metropolitan St. Louis area for the 2006 season. They have agreed.

2. We have instructed HOK Sport of Kansas City to direct the architects, engineers, and sub-contractors working on plans for our proposed downtown St. Louis ballpark and Ballpark Village to stop work.

3. We have retained a consultant to conduct a comprehensive traffic study of the entire St. Louis region to evaluate traffic patterns and measure fan travel time to alternative locations.

4. We have asked HOK Sport to prepare a Request for Proposals (RFP), which the Cardinals will circulate to interested parties within our approved Major League Baseball operating territory. The Cardinals approved Major League Baseball operating territory consists of the City of St. Louis, the Missouri counties of St. Louis County, Jefferson County, St. Charles County and Franklin County; and the Illinois counties of St. Clair County, Madison County, Monroe County and Jersey County."

View of proposed Ballpark - courtesy of St. Louis Cardinals.

"We have worked hard for three years," Lamping continued. "We have spent millions of dollars in planning, designing, and engineering to make the new ballpark and Ballpark Village a reality in downtown St. Louis. We have made more commitments, guarantees, and concessions, in writing, than almost any other team in any other sport. We fashioned a plan that would have generated millions of dollars in new revenue for Missouri's economy, while ensuring that taxpayers were protected and that we bore the brunt of the risk," continued Lamping.

"I would be remiss if I didn't mention that we are surprised that given the state's budget problems the legislature did not consider this economic development proposal that would have generated significant new tax revenue. In light of the fiscal problems the state is facing, their lack of action on this major private/public development initiative is unfortunate. We believe that, for too many legislators, this debate was never about economics, but rather about politics."

"I would, finally, like to reassure baseball's best fans - especially the more than 20,000 fans who signed up as members of the Ballpark Partnership - that we fully intend to reward their loyalty by designing and building the best new ballpark in the country somewhere in the St. Louis area. The only thing that has changed between a day ago and 6:00 p.m. today is that downtown St. Louis is no longer the only site we will be considering. And, again, given the lack of state involvement, the complexities of building next to Busch Stadium while games are still being played and the high ticket taxes charged in the City, I can no longer say that downtown is the most likely site for the new ballpark," stated Lamping.

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