The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are underway in the St. Louis region, and a good showing over the next week could help the area bring more major sporting events to downtown and the surrounding areas.
“We’re in the midst of multiple bids,” said Marc Schreiber, president of the St. Louis Sports Commission, on Tuesday at an event marking the competition. “We prove ourselves this week, it only helps that case even more. And the wonderful thing about St. Louis, we've been able to assemble that great track record of success.”
The city in 2025 hosted the NCAA hockey championships and has hosted the U.S. gymnastics championships three times since 2008. The commission has submitted a bid for the 2028 Olympic marathon trials, Schreiber said, and expects to bid on multiple NCAA championships. The commission is also interested in hosting the 2030 figure skating championships.
The championships, which end with the selection of the U.S. Olympic figure skating team, were last in St. Louis in 2006. This year’s event is expected to attract about 5,000 unique visitors, many of whom will attend multiple sessions at Enterprise Center over the week. City business leaders expect $20 million in total economic impact, including $14 million in direct spending, which would generate about $1.2 million in tax revenue.
“That allows us to not only support our police department, to pave our roads, keep the lights on, and do a whole host of things that we need to do as a city to make it a welcoming and a great place to visit and a great place to live,” said Mayor Cara Spencer.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department would not provide specifics about the number of officers who will be assigned to the event, but Chief Robert Tracy said they would be focused on “visibility, rapid response and ensuring a safe environment for everyone attending and visiting.”
Competition for the junior and novice levels, which took place at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, was to wrap up Tuesday evening. The path to the winter Olympic games in Milan begins Wednesday afternoon.
