Proposition of 2:

“Shall the use tax paid by businesses on out-of-state purchases and derived from the one half of one percent increased use tax, which corresponds to approval and levy of an Economic Development Sales Tax in the City of St. Louis, be used for the purposes of minority job training and business development programs, and a portion of construction costs, but not construction cost overruns, of a multipurpose stadium for soccer, local amateur sports, concerts and community events?”

Saint Louis missed out on a huge opportunity last Tuesday. With proposition 2 failing, the image of a soccer team in Saint Louis became a lot more fuzzy. Only gaining 47.2% of 57,966 votes, proposition 2 was denied by the citizens of Saint Louis City. The financing for the stadium was very generous compared to the recent proposition put out for the NFL stadium in January 2016.

Now, Westminster soccer fans as well as Saint Louis area futbol fans will not be able to attend the highest level of soccer in North America when there was the perfect chance to receive one. To put in perspective based on the history of the sport, no MLS team in Saint Louis is like not having a baseball team in the Bronx, or an NFL team in Green Bay.

After the recent drama with the Rams, the MLS looked like a perfect rebound for sports fans in need of a franchise that would be for the city not for the pure profit. The MLS promised to be a big part of the community and bring jobs and construction to this city. Turning down the MLS was like turning down a girl who wants to go with you to prom because you are still pouting from the girl who turned you down.

With that being said, the MLS being turned down revealed a big gash in our local government. The inability for the city and county to merge has cost our city vital economic growth as well as two professional sports teams. But, that’s for another story. There is no use crying over spilled milk, but from now on, WCA and local soccer fanatics will have to watch MLS games from their couch instead of under the arch.