ST LOUIS STADIUM, MISSOURI, USA
Following the announcement that Major League Soccer
(MLS) will expand to 30 teams in the not-to-distant
future, the city of St Louis is vying to be one of the next
locations to be awarded with an expansion team and has
unveiled the renderings for a conceptual new stadium.
Currently, there are 24 clubs competing in the
upcoming 2019 regular season with expansion teams
Inter Miami CF (2020), Nashville SC (2020) and Austin
FC (2021) to enter the league in the next two years,
bringing the total of MLS clubs to 27.
To exhibit to MLS executives what the city of St Louis
could deliver, an ownership group has created
a proposed soccer-specific stadium design with HOK
and Julie Snow, co-founder of Snow Kreilich Architects.
With an approximate capacity of 22,500-25,500,
it features a European soccer style design with a
distinctive EFTE canopy roof that the club says would
turn the venue into an architectural landmark, as well
as providing covering from the elements for fans while
letting in natural light for visibility and grass growth
thanks to its transparent material qualities.
The playing surface is situated 40ft (12m) below
street level, and to enhance fan atmosphere the position
of every seat in the two-tier stadium is within 120ft
(35m) of the playing field – the closest being just 20ft
(6m) from the touchline.
With fan experience being high on a list of desirable
attributes for the new venue, the renderings reveal
a number of exterior public spaces for fan zones where
spectators can watch action on large TV screens as well
as frequent food and beverage concessions.
Similar to a number of new MLS stadium builds,
the initial project site is proposed for a downtown
location, which would be situated in close proximity
to Busch Stadium, home of MLB’s St Louis Cardinals
and Enterprise Center, where the NHL’s St Louis Blues
play. As part of its urban location the development also
features mixed-use retail spaces and restaurants.
The ownership group behind the project claims it
visited numerous MLS venues to review designs and
learn best practices in order to create the most ideal
purpose-built soccer stadium.
If a team is awarded to St Louis, the stadium will host
approximately 18-20 regular season MLS home games
and three exhibition games, plus the open-air venue
would be perfectly sized to welcome a diverse program
of events such as shows, concerts, and esports. n
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www.stadia-magazine.com June 2019 09
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