Last week I sat down with Nicholas Mahrt, President and Chief of Staff to the CEO of Foundry St. Louis to discuss the new potential ownership group for an MLS team and stadium in St. Louis.
We discussed many topics on the record during our lunch interview which can be heard at the bottom of this article.
While many of us have heard of the MLS2STL group when the NFL left St. Louis, we began interviews with the MLS and politicians alike, trying to get updates on the situation.
Meanwhile another group, Foundry Saint Louis, had formed under Dan Cordes and his group of investors.
The potential site at Grand and Chouteau, which we’ve seen artist renderings of, is the headline site for Foundry Saint Louis. Mahrt mentioned that they have as many as five sites they are looking at near and in the downtown area, though so far they only released the drawings of one site.
I admit, not knowing much about Foundry Saint Louis, I was impressed by how much they have already done and the amount of ideas they have planned. In our conversation, Mahrt was very well informed on the workings of the project and gave great detail of what the vision of Foundry Saint Louis is. While both Foundry and MLS2STL are not crossing the finish line anytime soon, but sides agree that the MLS belongs here in St. Louis.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkTFKqptmT8?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]
Now here are some of the bullet points of the full recorded interview thirty-minute interview:
What is the goal of Foundry St. Louis?
They are actively seeking a Major League Soccer (MLS) team and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team. The stadium would be flexible for many uses including concerts, public events (an example given was events like a BBQ fest, Beer festival, etc)
Will the team(s) be named Foundry Saint Louis?
The fans will have a major say in the name(s) of expansion teams that come in.
Will 22,000 seats be enough seats? Can the stadium be expanded on down the road?
In speaking with Kansas City and San Jose officials who were two very different projects in terms of funding, both sides said it was critical to build a stadium with the understanding it may need to be expanded down the road. With how fast the MLS is expanding they have the design room to expand.
How will it be funded?
The goal is 100% private funded, but if they need public funding they would ask for a public vote. No private vote allowed, have the public endorse it, not politicians.
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