Reed put it this way: “It really does not send any negative message or anything. We’re going to do what we need to do. St. Louis is ready for Major League Soccer.”

Carolyn Kindle Betz, one of the lead investors in the proposed St. Louis soccer franchise, said the lack of aldermanic action won’t hinder the effort to secure a team.

“While we have been in discussions with various city officials and city agencies on this particular element of our proposal, this is not something that needs to be in-place to finalize our stadium plan or secure an expansion team,” she said in a statement.

MLS owners are scheduled to meet in Los Angeles later this week. The league is considering adding one team, with St. Louis and Sacramento, Calif., the leading contenders.

Conway said the port authority bill would be reintroduced in the upcoming 2019-2020 session which opens Tuesday but that it wouldn’t necessarily be used for the stadium plan.

The 1 percent port authority sales tax had been identified as part of a 3 percent stadium-only tax that would help fund the $250 million project, most of which would be privately financed. The port authority bill would expand its territory to include the entire city, including the stadium site near Union Station.