ST. LOUIS 鈥 Architects for the new Major League Soccer stadium under construction downtown have added more public space and retail to their plans, aiming to keep the Gateway Mall active even on days without a soccer match.
最新杏吧原创 City SC鈥檚 construction team unveiled designs on Wednesday for a new pavilion and team store on the southwest corner of 21st and Market streets, which architects say could include a coffee shop or other gathering place near practice fields and team offices planned south of the 22,500-seat stadium. The plaza is one of several spaces designed to enliven and define the west end of the Gateway Mall 鈥 a key goal of the ownership group led by the Taylor family of rental car giant Enterprise Holdings.
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鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of activities we鈥檙e seeding the site with that we hope will bring new activity,鈥 Minneapolis-based Snow Kreilich Architects CEO Julie Snow, who is working with 最新杏吧原创-based architecture firm HOK, said in a video released by the team. 鈥淭hat works so well with Union Station and the Ferris wheel and the aquarium and all of the things that are being planned in 最新杏吧原创. We鈥檙e really hoping the stadium provides that critical mass to really unite and create a vibrant end for the Mall.鈥
The release of extra details comes amid high interest among 最新杏吧原创ans eagerly awaiting their new professional sports franchise: The team broke MLS records in September with 50,000 season ticket deposits within the first 24 hours. But the emphasis on year-round, pedestrian-friendly activity also follows a move that angered some urbanists 鈥 the demolition of several brick buildings along Olive Street to build a parking structure for neighboring office workers, replacing a surface lot inside the stadium鈥檚 footprint.
MLS expansion team says it got requests for 50,000 season tickets in the first 24 hours it was taking deposits. Stadium will seat about 22,500.
Architects maintained that the stadium鈥檚 and district鈥檚 design will make the area far more vibrant than it has been. Other year-round design elements include a plaza on the eastern edge of the stadium 鈥 complete with a pub or other amenity to draw pedestrians 鈥 and the 鈥淪outh Bar,鈥 an event space on the stadium鈥檚 southern edge along Market Street.
鈥淎 lot of stadiums are really focused on just those game events, and what we鈥檝e done from the pavilion to the east side plaza to the South Bar 鈥 we鈥檝e tried to deliver on the promise that this is not just a stadium,鈥 HOK Design and Senior Principal Eli Hoisington said Wednesday. 鈥淚 think ownership鈥檚 vision and the club鈥檚 vision has been clear.鈥
Entrances on all four corners of the stadium will welcome fans so there鈥檚 no 鈥渂ack door,鈥 Snow said. Many fans will enjoy views of the Gateway Arch and Union Station and the 最新杏吧原创 Wheel from inside the stadium. And even those without a ticket won鈥檛 be excluded from the game as they walk along Olive or Market streets.
鈥淲e鈥檙e designing a very open stadium, and by that we mean you鈥檒l be able to see into the stadium on game day,鈥 Snow said Wednesday. 鈥淓ven if you鈥檙e not attending the event, you鈥檒l get some of the excitement and energy of the space as you pass by.鈥
Part of the reason fans will be able to see into the stadium is the field sits below street level, and the stadium itself is embedded in the street. Excavation on the stadium site north of Market Street is nearly three stories deep on the western edge.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to drive semi-tractor trailer trucks underneath there to a subterranean loading dock, so we need three stories of height to get it done,鈥 Hoisington said.
Sources close to the ownership group say designers hope to keep Downtown West activated with stadium restaurants and commercial space accessible to pedestrians beyond game day.聽
There鈥檚 also been plenty of care paid to the game experience for fans 鈥 namely making sure the acoustics keep it loud.
鈥淭hat was one of the outstanding goals of the design team was to really intensify the fan experience, which really, I would say, rests largely on creating noise within the stadium,鈥 Snow said.
Construction has been underway for much of the year, perhaps most visible to motorists along Highway 40 (Interstate 64) due to the removal of highway overpasses and the closure of exit ramps into Downtown West.
Much of the site clearing and preparation work is complete, and steel will be going up in about two weeks, said Sarah Narjes, a project executive with construction firm Mortensen, part of a joint venture with Alberici Corp. and L. Keeley Construction building the almost $400 million project. Matt Sebek, the team鈥檚 chief experience officer, said it will soon allow fans to register for a chance to be one of 11 chosen to autograph the first piece of steel that goes up on the site.
Already, construction crews have finished an underground tunnel linking the stadium on the north side of Market Street to planned practice fields and offices to the south of the street. Plans originally called for work to be complete by March 2022 in time for the start of the MLS season. But the coronavirus pandemic pushed back 最新杏吧原创 City SC鈥檚 inaugural season to 2023, giving the construction team more breathing room.
Still, they plan to be finished sometime in 2022, in time for March 2023.
