Matt Kramer, president of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, on Wednesday broached the possibility of a Major League Soccer stadium in St. Paul, if discussions in Minneapolis peter out.

Kramer said the location of the razed Metro Transit “bus barn” at Interstate 94 and Snelling Avenue is a possible redevelopment site. Its proximity to the Green Line light-rail corridor on University Avenue makes it attractive for a sports stadium.

The Sears store near the state Capitol is another potential site, Kramer noted.

Neither site is owned by St. Paul. And formal discussions with Bill McGuire, the owner of the Minnesota United FC, are not planned.

Without state support and Minneapolis’ blessing, St. Paul officials appear unlikely to offer tax incentives or public subsidies in order to lure a professional sports team, Kramer said.

“We are very interested, but we also know that Minneapolis was the original choice,” Kramer said of the proposed site in the North Loop area of downtown. “It does not make sense to ‘compete’ against Minneapolis — poor use of the taxpayers’ time and money.”

State lawmakers have shown little interest in helping to subsidize a professional soccer stadium, which would cost $150 million to $200 million.

McGuire joined Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad and Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold for a Wednesday discussion in downtown St. Paul.

The “Business of Sports” event was moderated by Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal reporter Nick Halter and sponsored by Northern Tier, Mortenson Construction and Briggs & Morgan.

Also discussed at the event: the possibility of housing a Wild practice facility in the vacant Macy’s department store in downtown St. Paul.

According to Kramer, Leipold said the facility would add vibrancy to downtown and leverage proximity to Xcel Energy Center.

Talks between the Wild and the St. Paul Port Authority, which owns the Macy’s site, are continuing.

More information about the event is online at the City Hall Scoop blog, blogs.twincities.com/cityhallscoop.

Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo.