Missouri HCR 7: Encourages and urges Major League Soccer to give serious consideration to placing one of its expansion teams in St. Louis

Bill Text

FIRST REGULAR SESSION
House Concurrent Resolution No. 7
100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE HILL.
1307H.01I DANA RADEMAN MILLER, Chief Clerk
WHEREAS, the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and the state of Missouri support
2 professional sports teams in our state; and
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4 WHEREAS, Major League Soccer (MLS) is in the process of selecting a city to host one
5 of the two remaining expansion teams as part of its plan to bring the number of teams in the
6 league up to twenty-six; and
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8 WHEREAS, soccer has a long history in St. Louis, including successful amateur clubs
9 in the mid Twentieth Century; St. Louis University winning multiple NCAA titles during the
10 1960s; a North American Soccer League team, the St. Louis Stars, from 1968 to 1977; and two
11 Major Indoor Soccer League teams, the St. Louis Steamers from 1979 to 1988 and the St. Louis
12 Storm from 1989 to 1992; and
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14 WHEREAS, six of the seventeen players on the famous 1950's United States Men's
15 National Soccer Team, which upset England in a game called "The Miracle Match", were from
16 St. Louis; and
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18 WHEREAS, since May 2014, the St. Louis Football Club (FC) has successfully operated
19 in the United Soccer League Championship, which is a Division II Professional League under
20 the United States Soccer Federation and one tier below MLS; and
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22 WHEREAS, St. Louis has hosted several international exhibition games, also known as
23 friendlies, in Busch Stadium and the Edward Jones Dome with teams including Chelsea, Inter
24 Milan Manchester City, and Real Madrid; the men's national teams of Argentina, Bosnia and
25 Herzegovina, and Ivory Coast; and the women's national teams of New Zealand and the United
26 States; and
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28 WHEREAS, the first qualifying match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup between St. Vincent
29 and the Grenadines and the United States was played in Busch Stadium; and

HCR 7 2
30 WHEREAS, over ten percent of St. Louis residents participate in soccer, and that rate
31 is three percent higher than the national average; and
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33 WHEREAS, St. Louis offers a large potential fan base to a MLS team; and
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35 WHEREAS, a proposal for a MLS expansion team in St. Louis has been submitted to
36 MLS; and
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38 WHEREAS, previous attempts to entice professional sports teams to the St. Louis area
39 placed an unfair burden on taxpayers; and
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41 WHEREAS, the current proposal features a stadium that would be overwhelmingly
42 financed privately; and
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44 WHEREAS, this effort would deliver an exciting new professional team without
45 siphoning public funds; and
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47 WHEREAS, St. Louis could acquire a MLS team without the use of any new tax
48 incentives; and
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50 WHEREAS, a MLS team would contribute to economic growth in the region; and
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52 WHEREAS, a MLS team in St. Louis is a smart investment for MLS and for the St.
53 Louis region and state of Missouri:
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55 NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the House of
56 Representatives of the One Hundredth General Assembly, First Regular Session, the Senate
57 concurring therein, hereby encourage and urge Major League Soccer to give serious
58 consideration to placing one of its expansion teams in St. Louis; and
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60 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of
61 Representatives be instructed to prepare a properly inscribed copy of this resolution for MLS
62 commissioner Don Garber, Governor Mike Parsons, and St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson.
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