When is a stadium more than a stadium? The ownership group for St. Louis CITY FC, the new Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise in St. Louis, had a vision for creating a vibrant mixed-use stadium district in the city’s Downtown West neighborhood. DG2 teamed with architects HOK and Snow Kreilich to design this reality.
With the home opener less than a month away the team is putting the finishing touches on the soccer complex. CITY will be one of the few U.S.-based teams in all professional sports, and the only MLS club, to have its stadium, team headquarters, training and performance center, and practice fields in one centralized downtown location simultaneously activating the growth of the Downtown West district.
The stadium site and adjacent parking garage lie across the street from historic Union Station and at the end of the Gateway Mall, along The Brickline Greenway linking the stadium to the Gateway Arch and Mississippi River.
The stadium’s scale and form emerge from the surrounding urban context. The 22,500-seat stadium is open and transparent, with views into the field from the neighborhood and views out to the city from the seating bowl.
St. Louis CITY wants this mixed-use district to catalyze downtown activity 365 days a year. Anchored by a compact stadium that fits comfortably into its urban neighborhood, the district will include spaces for hosting year-round community events, concerts, celebrations, and a variety of outdoor activities.
The 31 acres site includes over 300 trees of 21 different species. The site was strategically designed to keep the stadium’s corners open, we worked with the team to set the elevation of the stadium be accessible at all four corners. The design creates flexible plazas that can host non-game day events ranging from festivals to wedding receptions, including the main 2.9 acre Lou Fusz Plaza . Street-level vendors will have the opportunity to establish stands that face out to the city from the Stadium and the Pitch 314 Garage.