As St. Louis CITY SC continues to build out its vision for the Downtown West Stadium District, the team unveiled an innovative pop-up retail concept to be housed in the first level of a new parking garage located on the 1900 block of Olive.
Designed with urban aesthetics in mind and to provide replacement parking for businesses with employees who parked where the new stadium project is now located, the new four-level, 220,000-square-foot parking garage also includes designated custom-built, surface-level retail spaces with folding doors where merchants will offer goods and services to Downtown West visitors.
“Just as the Stadium District is not just for soccer, the new garage is not just for cars,” said Julie Snow, Founding Principal at Snow Kreilich Architects, who partnered with St. Louis HOK to design a number of the new soccer stadium’s key elements and also led the new parking facility’s design team. “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 largescale folding doors that can be opened to create a canopy shading for flexible pop-up events and retail.”
Given the new soccer stadium’s central location and the team’s interest in supporting multiple transportation options to increase overall mobility choices for St. Louis CITY fans and area residents, the garage includes bike parking and electric vehicle charging stations. It will increase the accessibility for fans visiting the new stadium district and be a convenient addition for existing and future retail businesses in the area.
“We believe the stadium will have a magnetic quality that draws people to the district 365 days a year,” continues Snow. “There will be a number of areas and open spaces surrounding the stadium where people will come together and be able to enjoy each other’s company.”
The new garage also will feature a large cascading CITY Red staircase for fans to access the stadium for events and games, while a large, cantilevered event balcony offers a prime view of festivities on both matchdays and for non-gameday events. Colorful Energy Yellow stairs encourage their use over elevators. An Arch Gray stainless-steel fabric encloses the garage, partially concealing parked cars from neighboring buildings while reflecting changes in daylight.
Additional garage details and amenities include approximately 450 standard parking slots, 30 electric vehicle charging stations, 50 bike parking spaces, and an 11’ by 45’ event balcony.
The team 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. Early next year, the team is looking forward to celebrating the first seats being anchored within the stadium.
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