St. Louis committee declines to advance soccer funding bill

The effort to build a $200 million soccer stadium in downtown St. Louis in an effort to lure a Major League Soccer team to the city has suffered a potentially fatal setback.

The aldermanic Ways and Means Committee voted 6-2 Thursday not to send to the full Board of Aldermen a bill placing a measure to provide $60 million in taxpayer money for the stadium on the April ballot.

Some aldermen cited concerns about funding a stadium when the city is struggling to provide basic services. But committee chairman Stephen Conway called the decision an insult to voters, saying it shows aldermen don't trust them to vote on the issue.

Officials from the investor group SC STL left the meeting without comment.