Dive Brief:
- The St. Louis Cardinals have proposed a $220 million expansion to Ballpark Village, the two-year-old entertainment venue next to Busch Stadium, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Phase II of the development would include a 29-story residential high-rise with approximately 300 units, a 10-story office building and a two-story retail center, the construction of which would generate an estimated 1,500 construction positions and 1,000 permanent jobs.
- The Board of Alderman is considering the deal, which would see the implementation of a 1% sales tax that would help pay for the expansion's infrastructure. Officials say construction on Phase II could begin in 2017, with completion expected in 2019, according to KDSK.
Dive Insight:
The Cardinals' development partner, Cordish Cos., is also a part of the $250 million Texas Live! dining, entertainment and conference venue that just started construction next door to the proposed $1 billion Texas Rangers' ballpark.
Cordish will oversee work on the first phase of the project, which includes an outdoor pavilion, 35,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, a 350-room hotel and 200,000 square feet of dining and entertainment establishments. According to Cordish and the Rangers, the hotel and convention portions of the project won't be ready until fall of 2018, but the entertainment and dining components will be complete in time for opening day of the 2018 MLB season.
Sports teams are increasingly trying to tie their stadiums and arenas to mixed-use developments that will pay off all year long, rather than just on game days during season. In addition, according to Michael Breclaw, with FitzGerald Associates Architects in Chicago, professional sports organizations realize they have a captive audience before and after games, so it makes financial sense to give them something to do, which includes places to spend their money.