Voters in St. Louis shot down a ballot measure that would’ve provided public money to help finance a Major League Soccer stadium on Tuesday.
St. Louis is one of 12 cities under consideration for the next round of MLS expansion, which will see two new teams added to the league, with another pair to follow, bringing the eventual total up to 28.
The stadium project needed voters to support two ballot measures in order to move forward. Proposition 1, which provides funding for transportation expansion, was approved. Proposition 2, which would have allocated $60 million from a business use-tax for the soccer-specific stadium, failed by a 53 percent to 47 percent vote.
MLS seemed to consider the St. Louis market a strong candidate for expansion, but now must consider other options. It appears St. Louis will, for now, remain a two-sport city.
“It’s unlikely St. Louis ever gets an MLS team now,” Investor Terry Matlack told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In a statement released after the vote, MLS said “For many years we have believed that St. Louis would be a tremendous market for a Major League Soccer team, but the lack of a positive stadium vote is clearly a significant setback for the city’s expansion opportunity and a loss for the community.”
