Major League Soccer expansion franchise St. Louis City SC has revealed details of an innovative pop-up retail concept for the parking garage at its planned open-air stadium.
The 220,000-square-foot garage will provide replacement parking for businesses with employees who parked where the new stadium project is now located.
The garage will feature four levels and include designated custom-built, surface-level retail spaces with folding doors where merchants will offer goods and services to Downtown West visitors.
St. Louis City SC’s new stadium is due to open during its debut MLS season in 2023. The pop-up retail concept will anchor the parking garage at the new stadium, which will have a capacity of 22,500.
The garage will include bike parking and electric vehicle charging stations. It is hoped the garage will increase accessibility for fans visiting the stadium district and prove convenient for existing and future retail businesses in the area.
Julie Snow, founding principal at Snow Kreilich Architects, which partnered with St. Louis HOK to design a number of the key elements at the stadium, said: “Just as the stadium district is not just for soccer, the new garage is not just for cars.
“While it provides easy, quick parking and exiting, it also is designed for cyclists using the planned bike routes next to the site, and for pedestrians passing by. We are especially excited about the multiple large-scale folding doors that can be opened to create a canopy shading for flexible pop-up events and retail.”
Snow, who led the design team for the new parking facility, added: “We believe the stadium will have a magnetic quality that draws people to the district 365 days a year. There will be a number of areas and open spaces surrounding the stadium where people will come together and be able enjoy each other’s company.”
The garage will also feature a large ‘CITY Red’ staircase for fans to access the stadium for events and games, with a large, cantilevered balcony to offer views of festivities on game days and non-game days.
St. Louis City SC released new renderings of its stadium district in December last year. The club recently finished the steel construction and pre-cast phases of the stadium, with work progressing on the exterior enclosure and interior mechanical, electrical, plumbing and finishes. The team hopes to fit the first seats at the stadium early next year.
Image: St. Louis City SC
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