



MLS Soccer Stadium Proposal
With aspirations of bringing a Major League Soccer team to St. Louis, a group of individuals passionate about the sport created ‘Foundry St Louis,’ a consortium of partners and investors dedicated to achieving this goal. The group’s vision was nothing less than to develop a proposal for MLS that represented a transformational project for the City of St. Louis, centered around a world class soccer specific stadium.
A new 22,500-seat stadium was proposed for a 13-acre site located on the northernmost edge of Saint Louis University’s (SLU) south campus, just south of Hwy 64. The highway and rail yard have long been permanent visual and physical barriers between the University’s primary north campus and the south campus containing SLU’s academic medical center. The proposed placement of the new stadium would become a critical unifier of the north and south campuses by extending an elevated walkway from the new stadium property northward, spanning across the rail yard and highway and providing pedestrian access to students between campuses. Parking is located below grade with access from the north, allowing clear circulation from the highway and adjacent roadways.
In the design concept, western bleachers rise above those to the east offering fans a clear view of the downtown skyline. A translucent canopy sweeps across the west and south grandstands to offer weather protection, while also containing and reflecting the roar of spectators back into the stadium bowl. The proposed stadium was designed to include an array of dynamic seating options and become home for SLU’s men’s and women’s soccer teams, a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) franchise, and various other events such as concerts. Additionally, the proposed stadium would have provided the University with the perfect venue to build upon existing programs including Sports Medicine and Sports Management.
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Foundry St Louis orchestrated public engagement events to solicit feedback from the community, which was then incorporated into the proposal, generating even greater fan excitement for the project.
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Client:
Foundry St. Louis
Scope:
22,500 Seat Stadium Proposal to MLS
2016-2017
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Role:
Voorhees - Sports Programmer, Planner
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Firm:
CannonDesign
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