Soccer Stadium, Team Name, and COVID-19

By the time the newly-named St. Louis CITY SC hit the pitch in their Downtown West stadium, now under construction, the bulk of the COVID-19 pandemic should be over…hopefully. Originally they were to join Major League Soccer in 2022, but the current pandemic delayed the MLS expansion schedule a year.

This delay will greatly benefit the St. Louis CITY SC. Construction on the stadium was just beginning as Coronavirus began spreading in the U.S.  The year delay gives more time to compete the facility and the adjacent training grounds and club offices. The delay also gives them time to make design changes to help in case of future pandemics.

The most obvious would be hand washing stations in public & private areas. The owners & architects are likely discussing other possible design changes:

• Larger public & private restrooms. Or at least have more dividers.
• Larger locker rooms, or again more separation.
• Larger back spaces, like kitchens & staff areas.
• How to handle lines to enter, for concessions.
• Potential for high-tech equipment to check temperature of those entering the stadium, locker rooms, offices, etc.
• How to make the stadium look good on television if a game is played without fans.
• Materials that resist germs, hold up well to deep cleaning.
• Equipment to automate the sanitizing of spaces, especially locker rooms.
• Evaluate the design of HVAC equipment to determine if it meets the newest guidelines for removing contagious air droplets, bringing in fresh air.

There are probably many more design considerations than the above.

Then there’s the name of the team, announced two days ago: St. Louis CITY SC.

We are East of the River and West of I-270. We are Old North and South County. St. Charles and St. Ann. Belleville and Oakville. We are the heart of a vibrant midtown and the soul of dozens of historic downtowns.

Our club represents every street, neighborhood and community in the region, standing up for one another. We are the collective spirit of generations old and young, doers and makers, always looking forward – together.

We are America’s First Soccer Capital and we tenaciously embrace our future. This is our club. This is our home. This is our CITY. (St. Louis CITY SC)

Part of me likes the idea that they’re trying to accomplish — getting us to view the region as outsiders do — a city called St. Louis. Outsiders don’t see or care that St. Louis County is carved up into 90 municipalities, or that the City of St. Louis physical boundaries were frozen in place nearly a century and a half ago. .

Carolyn Kindle Betz, who heads the local ownership group MLS4TheLou, has announced the name and logo for the new Major League Soccer team in St. Louis.

The team is named “Saint Louis City SC” and the color “city red” which borders on the color pink is featured in their logo.

Betz says that the team’s name is a way to bring the region together. The “City” aspect of the name is used by many other soccer clubs internationally. (Fox2)

Betz is right, I was able to find a lot of football clubs with ‘city’ in the name, Manchester City FC is the most known example. It seems not all football…uh…soccer fans like ‘city’ in the name.

Football is full of boring team names like ‘United’, ‘Rovers’ and ‘City’. Look in the right places, however, and you’ll find some really, really good ones. (Planet Football)

It’s interesting how U.S. teams use F.C. (football club) or S.C. (soccer club).  The MLS league will have thirty teams once expansion is complete. Thirteen use ‘FC’ in their names, including the three other expansion teams. With St. Louis CITY SC, the will have four ‘SC’ teams. The remaining thirteen do not use either ‘FC’ or ‘SC’ in their team names.

The colors, crest, etc are all very nice.

— Steve Patterson

Checking Out New Pedestrian Bridge Over I-70 Connecting Old North St. Louis and Near North Riverfront Neighborhoods

In December 2018 MoDOT temporarily closed I-70 to remove an old pedestrian bridge at North Market Street. A similar pedestrian bridge was removed from over I-44 at Marconi Ave, and at other locations.  Yesterday I checked out the new ADA-compliant replacement over I-70.

Before getting into the new bridge we should look at what it replaced. Interstate 70 was built decades before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, so the old pedestrian bridge had stairs on each side.

Stairs make such a bridge impossible for those of us who use wheelchairs, but also difficult for people who walk using a cane or walker. They’re also a challenge to a parent pushing a stroller, cyclists, etc.

Yesterday’s weather was so nice I decided to check out the completed bridge. It was 1.2 miles just getting there from our apartment near 7th & Cass Ave. I did encounter missing curb ramps in a few places — often missing sidewalks. But I made it.

It is nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. Highways divided many neighborhoods, many previously connected streets permanently severed. I have no idea how much this cost, but it was worth every penny. The highway is still an at-grade divider at this point, but the bridge makes it possible for everyone to safely to cross over it.

Once the current pandemic is over I’ll take the bus to other new pedestrian highway bridges so I can compare.  Yesterday I explored in Old North, got takeout from Crown Candy, and returned home 3.5 hours after leaving. Roundtrip was about 3 miles.

— Steve Patterson