A lot of hard work has gone into this extensive project and I think all the pieces are in place for this vision to become reality. It is no secret that MLS and Garber have wanted a club in St. Louis. Now, finally, a solid ownership group with solid finances and a plan has come together. And it looks and sounds good. Feast your eyes upon:

The stadium design is by HOK and will have an initial capacity of 20K, as represented in the last image. Expansion to 28K is built into the design and the first two images represent the fully built out design.

More on the stadium:

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The proposed stadium, which would feature views of downtown St. Louis, would be located just west of St. Louis Union Station, about a mile from the Gateway Arch and Busch Stadium. The site encompasses over 24 acres of property currently controlled by the Missouri Department of Transportation

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SC STL holds an exclusive option to purchase the property, which is accessible via the city's Metro Link train system, through an agreement with the Land Clearance and Redevelopment Authority of St Louis.

More info regarding the club:

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Known as SC STL, the group will fund much of the construction of the stadium project, which is estimated to cost just under $200 million. SC STL will also fund the entire MLS expansion fee as established by the league as well as the acquisition of the Saint Louis FC USL team, the famed St. Louis Scott Gallagher youth club and World Wide Technology Soccer Park to create a holistic soccer organization and build a developmental pipeline of homegrown soccer talent from the youth to professional ranks.

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SC STL is led by chairman and lead owner Paul Edgerley, formerly of Bain Capital and currently a partner with VantEdge Partners. The group's executive committee includes vice chairmen Jim Kavanaugh, the CEO of World Wide Technology and the founder of USL side Saint Louis FC, and Edgerley's VantEdge colleague Terry Matlack. Also serving on the executive committee is Dave Peacock, a former president of Anheuser-Busch.

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Other investors include:

Bob O’Loughlin, Chairman and CEO of Lodging Hospitality Management in St. Louis
John Sherman, Vice Chairman of the Cleveland Indians and former CEO of Inergy LP
David Gross-Loh, a Managing Director at Bain Capital
Robert Hermann Jr., whose family is the namesake of college soccer’s Hermann Trophy and whose family name is affixed to the Saint Louis University’s on-campus soccer stadium
Jim Powers, President and CEO of UniGroup (United Van Lines)
Steve Maritz, Chairman and CEO of Maritz Corporation
Thomas Roberts, Managing Director, Summit Partners

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“Having played soccer here in high school, college and professionally, I know the passion and loyalty of the St. Louis soccer fan and what having an MLS team would mean to St. Louis, one of the great soccer cities in the United States if not the world,” Kavanaugh said in the club statement. “The opportunity to bring an MLS team to St. Louis, in a manner that will energize and re-imagine our downtown core, is a privilege for me as well as my partners.”

Garber approves:

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“With its rich soccer heritage, St. Louis has always been a market of great interest to Major League Soccer and SC STL is the ideal ownership group that will provide St. Louis the best opportunity for a future expansion team,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement.

“We have had very productive meetings with lead investor Paul Edgerley and his partners and will continue to do so as they work to bring an expansion team to St. Louis. Their downtown site is the ideal location for a new stadium and we look forward to helping them make it a reality.”

The full article may be read at mlssoccer.com