Title
Supporting Major League Soccer in the City of Saint Paul.
Body
WHEREAS; Major League Soccer (MLS) has awarded a franchise expansion soccer team to Minnesota United FC (Club,); and
WHEREAS; the Club has expressed an interest to locate a MLS soccer stadium in the City of Saint Paul on the 10 acres at the intersection of Snelling Avenue and I94 (Midway site); and
WHEREAS; Metropolitan Council currently owns the Midway site previously used for transit infrastructure and thus the site has not generated property taxes for over 50 years; and
WHEREAS; an MLS stadium deal on this site should involve payments to the Met Council (owners of the site) that should support the opertations of the region's transit system; and
WHEREAS; current and future public infrastructure surrounding this location including the Green Line Light Rail Transit, A-Line Bus Rapid Transit, regular Metro Transit bus service, I94, Snelling Avenue, the Charles Avenue Bikeway, the Marshall Avenue Bikeway, the Prior Avenue Bikeway, and the Spruce Street Parking Ramp make this area a unique and prime location in the region for a MLS soccer stadium; and
WHEREAS; development of the Midway site from vacant non-tax producing land to the home of a MLS franchise and stadium would be a catalyst for future private investment and development in the 25 acre Midway Shopping area adjacent to the Midway Site; and
WHEREAS; the increased value of the Midway Shopping area as a dense Transit Oriented Redevelopment would increase the property tax base for the City of Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS; the City will engage the community in the design process for the Transit Oriented Redevelopment at the entire 35 acre Midway site; and
WHEREAS; the redevelopment of the Midway site as located in the center of the city would result in an investment and asset to not just the surrounding neighborhood but all of Saint Paul and the Twin Cities region; and
WHEREAS; the Club has indicated its intention to pay for the entire cost of designing, constructing and operating a MLS Stadium;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the City Council of the City of Saint Paul supports property tax exemption as the Midway Site is currently tax exempt and for the other reasons stated above for the Major League Soccer Stadium to be constructed in the City of Saint Paul on the Midway Site, so long as the construction of the Stadium is paid for, in its entirety, with private funds, the stadium would also accommodate many other uses and public events; a fair, sensible plan can be developed for the construction of needed public infrastructure around the site, including streets, sidewalks, bikeways, public space/park, shared parking, stormwater management, etc.; and the City has strong, specific evidence that the stadium and public infrastructure investments will help catalyze additional investments on the Midway Shopping Center site consistent with the Snelling Station Area Plan.