St. Louis sports secures funds for major events

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