The St. Louis Sports Commission is exploring the idea of creating a bowl game in downtown St. Louis between schools from the SEC and Big Ten. The game could be played in either the dome or Busch Stadium. Commission president Frank Viverito said there are still many considerations that need to be taken into account.
Viverito admits hosting a bowl game, just for the sake of hosting is not the motivation. “We can’t scrape this thing together and keep our fingers crossed that we can grow it. We have to get in at a solid level,” Viverito told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Steps that need to be taken include getting conferences such as the SEC and Big Ten to tie-in to the game. Plus, could the Commission find a title sponsor and get a television deal?
Viverito is meeting in Jefferson City on Wednesday with House and Senate leaders to promote legislation that would provide tax breaks to help bring amateur sporting events to the state. The Commission explored a bowl game back in the late 90’s, but once Missouri and Illinois started playing football in the St. Louis, the idea died. Now that the series has been discontinued for the near future, bowl talks are heating up again.
