Supporting #MLS4THELOU at St. Louis City Hall

On my off work day this past Wednesday (28 November), I picked up my friend and fellow soccer referee Austin Gomez from his Mehlville residence and drove to City Hall in downtown St. Louis (https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/city-hall.cfm). After parking in the lot and entering the building, Austin and I made our way to the meeting room where the Housing, Urban Development and Zoning (HUDZ) Committee of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen (https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/aldermen/committees/committee.cfm?comId=1) was meeting to discuss Resolution No. 180 (https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/city-laws/resolutions/resolution.cfm?rDetail=true&resolutionId=13075). This is the resolution to support St. Louis' effort to get a Major League Soccer (MLS) (https://www.mlssoccer.com/) expansion franchise, via a stadium to be built in downtown St. Louis.

Austin and I arrived in the meeting room around 8:30 am--approximately 30 minutes prior to the committee meeting--and found seats in the front row. While we waited for the meeting, we met part of the prospective ownership group, #MLS4THELOU (https://mls4thelou.com/), Carolyn Kindle Betz. She is the Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the Enterprise Holdings Foundation (https://www.enterpriseholdings.com/en/corporate-social-responsibility/enterprise-holdings-foundation.html) and a third-generation member of the Taylor family that owns Enterprise Holdings, Inc. (https://www.enterpriseholdings.com/en/index.html). The Taylor family and the family of Jim Kavanaugh, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of World Wide Technology, Inc. (https://www.wwt.com/), make up the ownership group.

Austin told Kindle Betz that I worked for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and she was very pleased hearing that. Kindle Betz and I chatted briefly, as I mentioned that have worked at the Ellisville branch for nearly six years. She was very happy for that and thanked me for my work for the firm. Before our conversation ended, I gave Kindle Betz one of my networking cards, with my employee number written on it, and she thanked me for it.

Austin and I also met Lewis E. Reed, President of the Board of Aldermen (https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/aldermen/president/), who was the lead sponsor of Resolution No. 180.

The meeting room soon filled up with other supporters--including some of the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/)--and with media, and an upstairs gallery was opened up to handle the overflow crowd. The HUDZ Committee, chaired by Alderman Joseph Roddy, opened its meeting around 9:10 am. After taking care of a brief resolution for another city matter, the committee took up Resolution No. 180.

President Reed, Kindle Betz, and other speakers stated their case for the resolution. This presentation emphasized that this proposed stadium would be privately financed for its construction, with only a slight user tax that would go upkeep. After the presentation, Alderman Roddy and his committee asked questions of the proponents. These questions were primarily to clarify matters, such as minority and women participation and what would happen if the stadium had to be demolished. The committee members praised the thoroughness of the proposal as presented.

After these questions, Roddy made room for some speakers from the floor. The one person in the who opposed the measure decided not to speak, and three proponents made short speeches to the committee. One of those was my friend and long-time soccer commentator Bill McDermott, who spoke of how St. Louis would be in a great spot with MLS if the resolution was passed. Then, sportscaster Dan McLaughlin of Fox Sports Midwest made an impassioned speech about how important landing an MLS team would be for St. Louis.

Then, the committee voted on Resolution No. 180. It passed unanimously, to great cheers from Austin, myself, and the other supporters in the room. Soon after the meeting, Tom Strunk from World Wide Technology--who also spoke to the committee--chatted briefly with Austin and I.

It was about 12:40 pm when Austin and I walked out of City Hall and headed for my car. He wanted to have lunch with me, but I told him I had a dentist appointment in about one hour. So, I drove Austin to his home, then headed to Dr. Kevin Price's office in Kirkwood for the routine check up. (No problems with my teeth, I am happy to report.) After the appointment, I had a light lunch at Steak 'n Shake (https://www.steaknshake.com/) in Sunset Hills.

Two days later (30 November), the full Board of Aldermen passed Resolution No. 180, 26-2. Now, it's up to MLS to decide if St. Louis gets the expansion team. I like to think that #MLS4THELOU has a great shot. We should know by month's end, when the league is expected to make its expansion decision.

Yesterday afternoon, just before heading out to dinner with Mom, a package arrived in my mail. It was a scarf and knit cap I ordered from #MLS4THELOU, which gives me a visible way of showing my support for this effort.

Later.