St. Louis is enjoying one of the greatest sports renaissances in the cities history with the Blues winning their first Stanley Cup title in their team’s history. Then on August 20th, Major League Soccer awarded the city an expansion team that will begin playing in 2022 and starting in February 2020 St. Louis will have their very first modern football team in the cities history. All of this would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the effort of Dave Peacock in his vision he had for St. Louis which start in the fall of 2014 when Former Governor, Jay Nixon appointed him in an effort to keep the Rams from moving to Los Angeles. In January of 2015, Peacock along with Bob Blitz produced a plan to build an open-air stadium on Riverfront North side of downtown St. Louis that also was going to be home a Major League Soccer team. Peacock spent long hours with NFL owners and executives in trying to keep the Rams in the city but Sadly the city lost it’s NFL team for 2nd time in less than 30 years when the NFL approved the team to move back to Los Angeles on January 2016 one year before Peacock introduce the stadium proposal. Stan Kroenke the owner of the Rams called St. Louis a two sports city that couldn’t support 3 major sports teams and sadly at one point he was proven right when Peacock again try to help organize a group along with Jim Kavanaugh who currently owns the Saint Louis FC of the United Soccer League, in trying to secure an MLS expansion franchise in 2016–2017.
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber and League officials had for years wanted a team in St. Louis so Peacock and his group unveiled a $200 million stadium proposal to be built on 30 acres of land next to Union Station but faced opposition from then Missouri Governor Eric Greitens who came out against the funding of the soccer stadium. The proposal was brought to a public vote on April 4, 2017, in a general municipal ballot, where it was defeated 53% to 47% for funding of the stadium and once again faced public embarrassment as a city not willing to be a major sports market. After the two failed attempts in keeping the Rams and securing a Major League Soccer team, Peacock went on to become the President of Schnucks which is one of the largest grocery stores in the St. Louis region. While some people will call his effort a failure, he shouldn’t be at fault in trying his best because he envisions the city growth through his time as a civic board member which include chairing the St. Louis Sports Commission, which attracts amateur athletics to the city. He didn’t believe St. Louis was a two-sport city that only supported St. Louis Cardinals and the Blues, he envisioned the city as a major sports market that could carry four sports team and could host major sporting events. In 2017 the IndyCar Series return to Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois across St. Louis. Then in 2018 PGA Championship came to St. Louis and was just recently announced that the PGA Senior tour had signed 4 year deal for tournaments in St. Louis starting in fall of 2020 and finally, St. Louis will host the 2020 NHL All-Star game that will be played at the Enterprise Center. While he is not personally involved with our two newest editions of our sports franchises, the MLS soccer club headed by owner Carolyn Kindle Betz, president of Enterprise Holdings Foundation and the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL, Dave Peacock should be given credit of starting one of the greatest sports renaissances in the cities history and because of it he will be enshine in both the St. Loius and Missouri’s Sports Hall of Fame.
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