ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — St. Louis County's legislative leader says she won't move forward with a bill issuing bonds for the downtown convention center expansion until getting clarity on a north county development that was to be part of that deal.
Rita Days, chair of the St. Louis County Council, has been holding the bill, No. 201, which would allow the bonds to be issued.
She said when the council in 2019 initially approved funding for the America's Center project, the legislation allowed the county to spend 35% of excess money after the convention center bonds are paid toward the rec center, though there was no clarity on exactly where it would be located or how much it would cost.
"That vote was contingent upon the fact that there would be money in there for the north county recreation center," Days said.
But the status of the project remains uncertain.
Days said after she took office in August 2019, she asked Kitty Ratcliffe, president of Explore St. Louis, the tourism agency that operates America's Center, about the rec center. "She said we're working on it, but I haven't seen anything done on that," Days said.
Ratcliffe told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last month that the work of a consultant hired to study the project was halted last year when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the region.
An Explore St. Louis spokesman said Monday that "the north county project is not part of the America's Center expansion but the authorizing legislation from the County also authorizes that project."
"It is presently being researched for presentation to the County Council," he said.
The $210 million convention center expansion is expected to involve creating a larger ballroom, more “usable” exhibit hall space and 26 loading docks. The costs of the project are to be split between the city and county governments.
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