By Rachel Lippmann, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Governor Jay Nixon says he is confident that the Ballpark Village development will get built on the site of the old Busch Stadium.
The St. Louis Cardinals announced Tuesday that they plan to use the 12-acre site as a softball field and parking lot during the 2009 All-Star Game. The original development plans had condos and office space on the lot by this July.
Nixon says no one believes the temporary plans are the best use of the property. "With the credit market we've got right now projects such as Ballpark Village are very, very challenging, and until we get out of the credit crunch we're in, it's going to be difficult for these types of projects to get out of the ground and move forward. And we want to do it right," he said.
Nixon says he will use the state's economic development office to recruit tenants for the complex. The governor also intends to use most of the $1 million in state tourism money he released yesterday to market St. Louis attractions to All-Star Game attendees.