Residents Object to Soccer Stadium in St. Paul Neighborhood

A residential neighborhood is not the place for the stadium because of the noise, traffic and parking problems it will cause. Bobbi Megard, a former St. Paul City Council member who served on a task force that examined the stadium issue, lives in St. Anthony Park six blocks from the site. She said she expects "to hear the play-by-play" booming from the stadium. The Falcon Heights City Council plans to vote tonight on a request to the university to delay its decision and look for a better location.

According to the article, opponents predict the increased traffic on Larpenteur and Cleveland Aves. and parking problems will take its toll on their neighborhoods. The stadium doesn't include additional parking. "The whole idea of the stadium is to bring in large crowds, and it's designed to encourage lots of noise," said Gehrz, the Falcon Heights mayor. "That changes the character of the neighborhood." And it could bring property values down in the St. Anthony Park and University Grove neighborhoods, said Gehrz and Megard. The site already includes three practice fields that have been used by the women's soccer team and recreation teams for the past four years. Megard said she and others don't object to those fields but are concerned that the new stadium and the rapid growth of soccer will create problems in the future. She said she also fears that the university may quickly outgrow the stadium.

Star Tribune Minneapolis, MN