HAYES: MLS here in 2020? Maybe so, but be cautious League looking forstadium sites in STL

An architect’s rendering of the soccer-specific stadium that was to be built near Collinsville once MLS approved an expansion franchise to St. Louis in 2009. That approval never came. An architect’s rendering of the soccer-specific stadium that was to be built near Collinsville once MLS approved an expansion franchise to St. Louis in 2009. That approval never came. Photo: Telegraph File Photo: Telegraph File Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close HAYES: MLS here in 2020? Maybe so, but be cautious 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Thursday, Major League Soccer announced that it will begin looking for a site in St. Louis for a soccer-specific stadium and will start looking into financing.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber visited St. Louis last year to look at the previous site of the proposed stadium for the NFL’s Rams. Thursday, he met with in New York with Dave Peacock, who was part of the task force given the task of coming up with the stadium plans, which included an option of being a joint-use facility with an MLS team, should one come to St. Louis.

We’ve been down the MLS road before and not all that long ago. A nearly five-year quest for MLS, led by one of our own from 2005 to 2010, wasn’t all that much fun.

Thursday, Garber made no promises but intimated that MLS is excited by the idea of a team playing in a riverfront stadium, possibly on the site previously mentioned for the Rams stadium.

Edwardsville attorney Jeff Cooper’s St. Louis Soccer United came close to landing an MLS team that would have played in a soccer-specific stadium to be constructed in the Eastport area near Interstates 255 and 70 outside Collinsville. But Cooper’s quest ultimately fell short in 2010.

Cooper, who’s now involved in other business ventures, said the recent hole left in the St. Louis professional sports scene could well be another chance at MLS.

“It’s a shame to see the Rams go,” Cooper said. “But it does open the door for MLS. I think (Dave) Peacock and his group did a great job in putting together a stadium proposal to keep the Rams here and they included MLS options for the stadium, too.

“They did everything right, “ he said. “They did what the league asked them to do, but in the end, they were victims of what I see as the dishonesty of the NFL.

“I haven’t heard of anything concrete as far as MLS here is concerned, just speculation and its inclusion as part of the stadium package to keep the Rams.”

Cooper spent nearly $10 million of his own on his attempt to land an MLS expansion team for St. Louis. He was able to recoup some of it, but suffice to say, Cooper was the guy who lost most of the sweat, tears and dollars on the attempt.

Cooper also came within an eyelash of purchasing Real Salt Lake of MLS and was prepared to move the team to St. Louis.

Cooper lost millions in his quest that saw him jump through every hoop presented him by MLS. In the end, the millions he started with turned out to not be enough once the expansion fees charged by MLS increased. Millions no longer are enough. Now it’s billions.

Financing snafus, including a pair of major investors who simply stopped investing, were among the major reasons Cooper’s bids fell through. In the end, the MLS soccer gods were more impressed with offers in places such as Philadelphia and Portland.

His initial expansion efforts thwarted, Cooper decided to go another route, through a lower-division team that could ultimately grow into one that could move up to MLS.

Cooper helped start up Women’s Professional Soccer and his Saint Louis Athletica was a charter team. He signed a Who’s Who of women’s soccer of that day – Hope Solo, Lori Chalupny, Kerri Hanks, Jillian Loyden, Daniela. He also started up AC St. Louis on the men’s side and resurrected the NASL brand as a second-division side. Both teams played at St. Louis Soccer Park.

Despite what is undoubtedly a bad taste left in his mouth, Cooper said he hopes a new group is formed whose aim is to land expansion MLS soccer to St. Louis.

And while he welcomes such a group, he won’t be leading it.

“I have no intention of restarting that quest,” Cooper said. “But I still believe in St Louis as an MLS city. I’d be willing to help. I hope there’s a group put together.”

For some reason, some of the soccer fans in these parts chose to vilify Cooper after his plan failed. Even though their investments were no more than buying tickets or T-shirts, they somehow felt Cooper was a bad guy, despite his losses. That doesn’t concern Cooper.

Part of the professional sports landscape that is different from a decade ago is that many of the corporate sponsorship dollars that were in St. Louis then are gone.

“Anheuser-Busch, Purina, TWA, McDonnell Douglas are gone now,” Cooper said. “But there are still potential corporate sponsors here that have sprung up.”

St. Louis has a hunger for pro soccer. Saint Louis FC played its first season last year before sellout crowds at St. Louis Soccer Park (now known as World Wide Technologies Soccer Park). And while there is a core group of fans that follows STLFC, an MLS franchise would be a different world, but one which could grow from the seeds out in Fenton along the Meramec River.

The possibility of landing an MLS team is indeed still out there. But it will take dedicated efforts, billionaire ownership and the willingness to jump through hoops.

It appears that this time, MLS is coming to St. Louis, not the other way around. The league is planning expansion and Garber hinted that if St. Louis does land a team, it could begin playing in 2020.

The MLS owners may not have as much swagger as the NFL group, but don’t kid yourself for a second – they are not in it just for the love of soccer.

Remember, Stan Kroenke is an MLS owner, too.

Reach Pete Hayes at 463-2500 or Twitter @HayeserPete