ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Sports Commission just got some big financial backing to bring top-tier sporting events to the St. Louis region.
The St. Louis Sports Commission says over the years it’s been a challenge to attract sporting events to the region. Kansas City recently won a bid to host the World Cup, while Indianapolis won the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. But on Thursday, the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Development Corporation and Neal Richardson, President and CEO, through a resolution, took action to help put St. Louis back in the game.
They struck an agreement with the St. Louis Sports Commission.
“SLDC proposed a resolution that would be significantly helpful to our efforts to attract major sporting events to St. Louis and the specifics are the establishment of a fund that we can tap into , basically a backstop for bids,” said St. Louis Sports Commission President Marc Schreiber.
The funding not to exceed 500 thousand dollars, would give St. . Louis extra money to lock in big events.
“This will be for high-profile major events that we can bring to St. Louis, like the US figure skating champion ships that we just submitted a bid for in 2026 and the NCAA champion ships they pursue, like the wrestling championship and the NCAA women’s volleyball national championship. Championship events like that bring thousands of visitors to our community and come with great national exposure and coverage that present St. Louis in a positive light,” said Schreiber.
The entertainment attraction fund will help the sports commission compete with peer cities. The sports commission says that although tickets , sponsorships and other revenues generally cover all expenses, the financial support from SLDC adds additional weight.
“There are events that we require a guarantee from a non-profit, privately funded sports commission and this gives us some assurance that for some reason we cannot meet our projection for ticket sales and sponsorships , the expenses that we are responsible for covering . That SLDC can help us cover that shortfall to a certain amount and that is a huge step forward .” said Schreiber
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