St. Louis Moves to The Expansion Forefront
Wednesday, September 5th, 2007Where I have I been? That’s a great question.
One thing I have been doing is closely following MLS expansion in my hometown of St. Louis. The city council of Collinsville, Illinois will vote on September 10 to approve a pre-annexation agreement that would set the wheels in motion for a stadium deal that would be the home of a St. Louis MLS team and the relaunched women’s professional team.
The primary prospective owner is local attorney Jeff Cooper. I have spoken with him on several occasions, and based on these conversations, St. Louis soccer fans should consider themselves so lucky that a true soccer fan has decided to invest so much time and energy into bringing professional soccer to St. Louis.
Yes, he has drawn criticism from the provincial folk in St. Louis that like think driving across the Mississippi is the equivalent of crossing an international border. However, the site is about ten minutes from downtown St. Louis, and if these same soccer fans in Missouri are willing to drive to a Cardinals game, they should be willing to drive to Collinsville. Luckily, Cooper is the kind of owner that would not stop until soccer fans are flocking to Collinsville to see a successful team that reflects the area’s rich soccer heritage.
Here’s hoping that Cooper can finalize the deal. He and a St. Louis area team would really be great for this league.
