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Illustration of proposed Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis, courtesy of St. Louis Baseball Cardinals.

A New Cardinals Stadium Could Be Catalyst for East St. Louis Redevelopment
Mayor of East St. Louis, IL

In May of 1999, Mayor Powell made history by becoming the first female to be elected Mayor in the City of East St. Louis. She ran on a philosophy of "A New Way -Politics of Inclusion." Today, her vision of inclusion has grown stronger with the possibility of a stadium in East St. Louis.

By Bob Moore
© 2002, Southwest Illinois News

EAST ST. LOUIS, (SWI-news.com), Sept. 18, 2002 - As the St. Louis Cardinals hammer out plans for the location of their new stadium in the metropolitan St. Louis region, it is becoming obvious that East St. Louis would have a lot to offer the team.

In a conversation with Southwest Illinois News, East St. Louis Mayor Debra A. Powell commented that if the St. Louis Cardinals build a stadium in East St. Louis, it would be the catalyst to spur economic development on their riverfront.

The Mayor noted that her preference is for Governor Holden, State of Missouri, Mayor Slay, and citizens of St. Louis to come up with a deal that will keep the Cardinals' Stadium in downtown St. Louis.

"As I stated over a year ago, if you cannot have it successfully in downtown St. Louis, then the City of East St. Louis would offer the riverfront in order to have the stadium stay in the downtown area," said Mayor Powell.

"Our view is that the City of East St. Louis' downtown area really is an extension of downtown St. Louis. We must begin to think regionally. We are contiguous. As goes the City of St. Louis, really will go the City of East St. Louis and vise versa," said the Mayor.

The Mayor noted that the City of St. Louis is looking to become a tier one convention town. "There are certain attributes, certain things that they need within 10 minutes of their convention center," said the Mayor. "The City of East St. Louis has the land to do that with over 1,600 undeveloped acres. Mainly, when people go to conventions, they also love to golf. They would like to have a golf course within 10 minute of the convention center. The City of St. Louis cannot deliver that. However, we can deliver that on our East St. Louis Riverfront using some of our wetland area that would make wonderful green space for a golf course. Some years ago, developer Jim Koman had spoken with Hale Erwin who had agreed to actively design that golf course."

In May of 1999, Mayor Powell made history by becoming the first female to be elected Mayor in the City of East St. Louis. She ran on a philosophy of "A New Way - Politics of Inclusion." Today, her vision of inclusion has grown stronger with the possibility of a stadium in East St. Louis.

"I say that a real marriage with the City of St. Louis and the City of East St. Louis is eminent. It has to happen. And the stadium being on the East St. Louis Riverfront rather than being in the outskirts of the St. Louis City area would begin that marriage that is necessary. You would still stabilize the small businesses in downtown St. Louis. If those merchants can't reap the benefits of the tourism and the people that come to the stadium, they could very well loose their business and job opportunities for people in the region," said the Mayor.

If the stadium is in downtown East St. Louis, you still have the same attributes. You are just two minutes over the river. You can still stabilize downtown St. Louis and rebuild East St. Louis.

Mayor Powell observed that the City of East St. Louis is in a win-win situation regardless of what the Cardinals do. "The Cardinals are still going to be the St. Louis Cardinals if the stadium comes over here. However, if it doesn't come over here, now people realize the potential of East St. Louis and that is a benefit for us. We should be known as a place for economic opportunity and now we are."

"Right now we have 6.4 million people who come to this St. Louis region annually," continued the Mayor. "If we really want to compete with other vacation spots, we are going to have to offer more leisure kinds of things for tourists. St. Louis is landlocked. In order for them to build their convention center, they tore down a hotel that was only ten years old. On our East St. Louis riverfront, we don't have to do that, we just need to clean up and build up."

"We have over 1,600 acres and that's just riverfront property. It does not include the rest of our city. It just makes sense to begin to think regionally. We begin to think more on a tourism level for the region to increase the number from 6.4 million in order to double it."

We want to be that mecca of what America really needs to be about.

"Our theme is going to be "East St. Louis, America At Its Best." Meaning that there are opportunities for all people in East St. Louis, no matter what race, creed or color you are," stated Mayor Powell.

"The City of East St. Louis is known throughout the world. It's just not known for its true potential. Former President Clinton saw the potential and we're just trying to get President Bush to see the potential for not only East St. Louis but for his administration to show everyone that he is focused on what America should be about - a place of prosperity for everybody."

"We've been in conversation with the Miles Davis family about a Miles Davis Jazz Club. Everywhere I go throughout the country, people will always talk about East St. Louis as being a party town. Well, while we want you to have fun here, we are moving to a new era. It's about economic prosperity and opportunity for everybody. What we want to do is transform our nightclubs into quality class nightclubs."

The Mayor observed that the MetroLink plays a dominant part in the possible location of the stadium on the east riverfront.

"There are three major locations that are being considered here in East St. Louis and that is the beauty of all the land that is available. If you move further south or north you lose the arteries of the Popular Street Bridge or the Martin Luther King Bridge. You also loose the benefit of the Metro Link Stations. There's one at 5th and Missouri and one on the Riverfront. It just makes good sense when you look at the fact that 20% of the Cardinals patrons utilize the Metro Link."

"There is no MetroLink and there are no major arteries to connect you to where Gateway International Raceway is. The new Mississippi River Bridge hasn't even been funded and we know how the Federal Government works. They could pull the plug on it and put the money somewhere else. Even if they were going to build the bridge and had all the funding, you are talking about ten or twelve years away," contined Mayor Powell.

"The Cardinals need a stadium now. You loose the effects of stabilizing the small businesses if you don't go directly across the water. It would not be good for the region if any other site is selected."

"It would be the best thing that has happened to us since the Casino Queen," stated the Mayor. "Before they came to us in 1993, our general fund budget was at $9 million. After the infusion of the Casino Queen, our general fund budget jumped to $19 million dollars all in one year. If the Cardinal stadium is also brought over here to East St. Louis, it would mean a tremendous opportunity for us to expand and grow."

"It would not only benefit the City of East St. Louis, but the City of St. Louis because it will be the catalyst, the jumpstart we need for other kinds of economic development to spur on our riverfront to really redevelop it. That kind of tourism that will come will also benefit the City of St. Louis because we are not going to rebuild the City of East St. Louis in competition with St. Louis. We want to do a marriage. We want to provide some things on our riverfront and in our downtown area that you can't readily get in downtown St. Louis."

Roughly a year ago, when the Cardinals met with resistance to build a new stadium in downtown St. Louis, Mayor Powell sent a letter to Mark Lamping, president of the St. Louis Cardinals.

"I said why don't you consider the East St. Louis riverfront if you can't do the stadium in downtown St. Louis, rather than considering going into the suburban areas. When I sent that letter on behave of the people of East St. Louis to Mark Lamping and it was made public that it took place, we had three developers, three companies with trucking, i.e., warehousing to say, 'hey we had not considered East St. Louis.' They began to look on our Goosefield area at the old Hunter Packing site which we are now cleaning up with Brownsfield money and getting it ready for development. They began looking at East St. Louis in a different light. Now they are considering."

When asked about the negative comments made regarding the crime in East St. Louis, the Mayor strongly replied, "No, there was one comment made by a Missouri representative who should have been out of office a long time ago with that kind of mentality. When they did the actual broadcast after the letter came out, you had random comments from people who ride the Metro Link who were positive about the Cardinal stadium possibly being in East St. Louis. Prior to the expansion of the MetroLink to Belleville, the 5th and Missouri MetroLink Station was the highest-used station on the route."

We have put together and it gives me great pleasure to announce under this pilot administration, the resurgence of our riverfront.

"When they announced the possibility of moving the stadium, crime was never the issue. You had people of all race, creed, color and all ages giving positive response about their experiences in East St. Louis. Yes, we are 98% African American, but the other 2% are of other ethnic backgrounds and nationality. However, outside of ten years, when we redevelop, it will probably be 65% African American."

"The reason why people were not coming to East St. Louis was they had no reason to come until the Casino Queen came. It's one of the most profitable boats on the Mississippi River."

"If you look at a lot of the land that's owned in East St. Louis, it's not owned by Black people who live in East St. Louis. People are land banking our land because they know that the resurgence of East St. Louis is eminent. It's going to happen and they want to be in on the ground floor and have some property in order to be part of it."

"We have put together, and it gives me great pleasure to announce under this pilot administration, the resurgence of our riverfront. The redevelopment of our East St. Louis riverfront is underway. It started last year in October with the St. Louis District Army Corps of Engineers being led by Debbie Roush. Joe Bacon of SWIDA has been a partner. Even Mike Jones, director of the Empowerment Zone, has been pounding the pavement and tooting the horn of what the potential is over here."

East St. Louis Riverfront Proposed Development

Illustration of the proposed East St. Louis Riverfront Development, courtesy of City of East St. Louis

"In order to redevelop a riverfront, you just can't go and build. You have to clean up the ground, identify who owns the land, look at the traffic patterns, the street patterns and the sewer systems. Those kinds of probes are underway. That's the resurgence," emphasized the Mayor.

"In the past, you've had people talk about different projects that could work. You've had the University of Illinois do a study on what could work. Also, we did a market analysis with the help of getting the statistical data from the RCGA and Dick Fleming, President & CEO. We looked at what the market is calling for, and with the help of Kwame Building Group in St. Louis, put together a preliminary $500 million dollar rendering of what can potentially be on our riverfront to enhance not only East St. Louis but the entire region. That had never been done before."

Mayor Powell noted that some thirty years ago, Baltimore found itself in the same shape that East St. Louis is experiencing. She learned that when the industry moved out to the county area it just killed the Baltimore area.

During a visit to Baltimore, former Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke put the Mayor and Frank Childress, Economic Development Liaison, East St. Louis, in touch with Barbara Bonnell, director of information for the Baltimore Development Corp. Bonnell had worked some twenty-five or thirty years ago on the resurgence of Baltimore harbor. "She explained to Frank and I that it was the business community who put together some half a million dollars to get a nationwide search for a planning group. That group came in and met with elected officals, the business community and the people. They put together what is now one of the most beautiful harbor areas in the nation," stated the Mayor.

"We are just taking a page from Baltimore," added Mayor Powell. "We have even spoken with the people who put the plan together. They are the same people who did St. Louis Union Station. So we have been going across this country looking at riverfront cities that have been redeveloped, looking at how they are doing it and how they have done it. We are just trying to roll it over to the City of East St. Louis."

"Our philosophy quite frankly is we don't care if it's working in another city. We don't intend to reinvent the wheel," stated the Mayor. "We just intend to roll the wheel on over into East St. Louis and make it work. That's what we have been focusing on. We are on our way. We are moving things in a different direction. We are on the right track here."

"I'm so excited. Frank and I have been traveling across this country and courting the RCGA and getting involved in order to change the image of this community. We are now seeing it come to fruition. Our work and our labor has not been in vain," said Mayor Powell.

Archived Stories:
Olympic Spirit Burns at Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Club
Miles 2001 Festival Draws Thousands of Jazz Fans
MetroLink Extension in St. Clair County Opens
East St. Louis Library Built Brick by Brick
Home Team Helps Two St. Louis-area Families Achieve Dream of Home Ownership
Local Cisco Networking Academy
Habitat for Humanity
JJK B&G Grand Opening
Mayor Christens Crown Hotel
Happy Birthday, Katherine Dunham
New Library For East St. Louis
MetroLink Brings Viability to East St. Louis
JJK Youth Center Is a Dream Come True

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