LHM Seeks Major League Soccer Stadium as Part of New Vision for Union Station in St. Louis

{initial site study by ICON Venue Group}

Lodging Hospitality Management is scheduled to close on their $20M purchase of the historic 1894 St. Louis Union Station today and they're not wasting any time thinking big. According to nextSTL sources, LHM is proceeding with extensive efforts to shoehorn a Major League Soccer stadium into the station site. The Post-Dispatch first reported that LHM, based at Westport Plaza, is thinking beyond reducing retail, expanding meeting space and rebranding the Marriott hotel to a Hilton Double Tree. LHM is hoping to return private train service to the station and add a transportation museum. The PD called it "the centerpiece of LHM's plan." But it's clear that LHM is thinking much bigger. The new owners seem to understand that the revitalization of Union Station will require more than a rebranded hotel and a museum.

Early planning images show an ~20,000 seat soccer-specific stadium located between the train shed and I-64, though this is far from the only option. MLS stadiums of that size have cost between $60-100M to build over the past half dozen years. The stadium plan would also include office, some retail and possibly a residential component. If completed, the MLS stadium would provide the third major league sports venue on just 3/4 of a mile of Clark Street in downtown St. Louis. Although planning remains in the early stages, the vision has received interest from local tenants and some from outside the region.