MLS starts stadium site search for possible St. Louis expansion

MLS has started its search for a new stadium in St. Louis and will try to find financiers immediately, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

League commissioner Don Garber expressed his excitement of an expansion team playing on the St. Louis riverfront, which is where the proposed new Rams stadium would have been if not for the Los Angeles development in the NFL.

Garber did not promise the MLS would move to St. Louis, but he claims now is the time to see if it was an option.

“This is a unique moment in time where we can really, finally, see if St. Louis is MLS-ready,” Garber said.

“With an expansion team, you can actually build a club that is born in St. Louis. The team can build fans over generations.”

MLS added two teams in 2015 – Orlando City and New York City – which expanded the league to 20 teams.

Garber said a team in St. Louis could be a possibility as soon as 2020.

“Nobody argues that St. Louis is not a great soccer market,” Garber said.

“It has a passionate fan base, and a great soccer history. But in the past, it had a harder time pinning down local owners and finding the correct stadium site.

“The stadium site is key.”