St. Louis’ Underrated Sports Scene Comes Alive

For a city with a deep sports pedigree, St. Louis has seen its share of success and heartbreak. Over 100 years ago, in a different era, it was one of first hosts of the modern Olympic Games. The NFL was here and then it left. The St. Louis Blues waited decades before finally hoisting a Stanely Cup. And collegiate events have come and gone over the years.

But with the arrival of the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship — the Frozen Four — and a new leader at the helm of the city’s convention bureau, comes a chance for St. Louis to be back on the national sporting spotlight.

“We have to have a perfect, synergistic relationship with the St. Louis Sports Commission and so a big part of my role coming in is to build that relationship up to what it needs to be,” Explore St. Louis President and CEO Brad Dean said, having arrived from Discover Puerto Rico a few months ago. His other tentpoles are making sure investment continues in downtown and a brand builds around the destination.

“It’s a special sports identity, but yet sports plus,” Dean said. “This is one of a few places where you could see a great sporting event and just a few minutes away stroll through a park that’s larger than Central Park. A big part of our role is to amplify and expand upon the brand of St. Louis, which is anchored in sports and make it a great sports market that offers so much more entertainment. And I think that’s particularly important.”

Ideal Frozen Four Mix

This year’s Frozen Four started Thursday with the semifinals before Saturday’s championship game. It’s a mix this year with a traditional powerhouse in Boston University facing a first-time Frozen Four participant in Penn State after Denver, the defending champion, plays Western Michigan — the No. 1 team in the country making its Frozen Four debut after more than five decades.

“We’re thrilled with the four teams that we got and their backstories,” said Tim Ryan, director of communications for the St. Louis Sports Commission. “We’re really delighted that we get to put on a production for two blueblood programs and fan bases and two new ones and be their first experience at the Frozen Four.”

The sports commission staff had the normal mix of excitement and the feel of a tiny bit of pressure the weekend before the Frozen Four, making sure things go off without a hitch. The commission is the official host working with Explore St. Louis and other city entities on hotel sourcing and setting up community events, all with an eye toward making an impression on the NCAA ahead of the next bid cycle. St. Louis has hosted the Frozen Four twice before, in 1975 and 2007.

“We want to check all those boxes,” Ryan said. “Different (NCAA) committees for sports and championships, they all talk. If they get a fabulous, unforgettable experience in St. Louis, we believe that bodes well for future events.”

Hosting the Frozen Four was also helped by a three-phase renovation of the Enterprise Center that was completed in 2019. Along with a laundry list of engineering work and scoreboard improvements, there was wholescale replacement of seats, club areas and suite improvements.

“Our partners at Enterprise Center, they want to make sure that everything in the building is top shelf and a first class experience,” Ryan said. “I’ve been in a lot of buildings and for different events. It’s Midwestern hospitality to the max. I think they value very much everybody having a great experience so that they want to come back again and again.”

“Hosting the Frozen Four is a huge event for us in that it shows we are in the upper echelon of venues and cities that have the capability of hosting major hockey events,” added Roger Hacker, the St. Louis Blues’ chief communications officer. “It all goes back to when the venue got renovated in 2019 and these events don’t come without that improvement in the venue. To get that renovation done, to be able to work with the St. Louis Sports Commission to get events like this, it’s everything that we want to be to hockey in St. Louis.”

Hockey on the Rise

That entertainment starts before the first puck is dropped at the Enterprise Center when the Blues take the ice in a region the franchise has branded “the Heartland of Hockey.” Even during intermissions, there is a social spot where a band plays as thousands of fans walk around and eat from the various concession stands and crowd into the team shop.

“St. Louis is a hugely passionate sports city,” Hacker said. “Our games, Cardinal games, are really a huge part of the social fabric of St. Louis. And when the teams are playing well like this, it’s just a magnet for activity that everybody wants to be a part of and not miss out on.”

Nobody was missing out on the Blues last Saturday, an eventual 5–4 win over the Colorado Avalanche that was the team’s record 12th victory in a row. For a franchise that is over 50 years old, its local fanaticism grew stronger thanks to a magical run in 2019 that ended with the team’s first Stanley Cup title.

“When I got here (11 years ago), I would meet older fans who would tell me the only thing I have left in life to happen before I die is see a Stanley Cup,” said Blues CEO Chris Zimmerman. “I would often reply that’s fantastic, no pressure — I understand the assignment.”

Assignment completed; the Blues brought not only St. Louis its first Cup title but a parade that drew an estimated 1 million people. The team has since hosted the 2020 NHL All-Star Game and is in position to make the playoffs this season after a two-year hiatus. The team’s ownership group also works on yearly improvements throughout the Enterprise Center to keep its fan engagement high and bring in marquee events. In an area where there was one hockey rink when the team was founded in 1967, now there are 27 rinks in the region.

“I got to work in Vancouver for three years in a similar role and it’s one of the great Canadian cities, one of the great North American cities,” Zimmerman said. “Hockey in Canada rules and I’ll put the passion and the energy of the St. Louis Blues fan base up against anybody.”

Former Olympic Games Host

The Enterprise Center hosts more than hockey, however. It is the traditional site of the Illinois vs. Missouri “Braggin’ Rights” men’s college basketball game each season. (Dean hopes to bring the football rivalry game back to town in the future.) Explore St. Louis has a long relationship with Capital Sports, a volleyball tournament organizer that regularly brings large youth events to the region.

“That’s really one of the things is that you’re able to utilize the venues for other things,” Dean said. “Those are the regular one-offs that you can use to broaden your brand.”

Then there’s also one thing many may not know about St. Louis — it is a former Olympic Summer Games host. The city hosted the Games in 1904 in conjunction with the World’s Fair. And it was in St. Louis that the current three-medal format of gold, silver and bronze for first, second and third place was first introduced.

St. Louis will also host the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and since 1995, it has hosted “Arch Madness,” the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball conference tournament. The Enterprise Center has hosted two women’s basketball Final Fours (2001 and 2009) and eight NCAA Wrestling Championships with a ninth to come in 2027. It also hosted the PWHL in March with 8,578 on hand to see Ottawa beat Boston.

“Whether NCAA championships, U.S. Figure Skating, USA Gymnastics, those are coveted events for their economic impact and the brand value they bring to a city and a region,” Zimmerman said. “We’re linked arm in arm with the sports commission, Explore St. Louis and the rest of our community. I think it’s one of the reasons we win these events.”

UFL Remains a Big Draw

There is, of course, another professional championship to mention — the Vince Lombardi Trophy, won by the “Greatest Show on Turf” when the then-St. Louis Rams beat the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV.

St. Louis and the NFL have a long, winding history. The Cardinals left for Arizona in 1987, leaving the area without a team until the Rams came in 1995. Through 20 seasons, the Super Bowl was the highlight for a franchise that also made another Super Bowl appearance before things on the field turned downward. The club eventually returned back to Southern California after the 2015 season.

But then came the Battlehawks in 2020 as part of a re-launched XFL and then, after a league hiatus, they returned in 2023. Immediately becoming the league’s most successful franchise in fandom, the Battlehawks reached the inaugural UFL championship game in 2024.

“Residents have embraced the Battlehawks as part of the sports culture of St. Louis, with a little bit of we’ll show the NFL how much we love football,” Dean said. “Look, the NFL made a really unfortunate decision that has caused St. Louis a lot of jobs and economic impact, but it hasn’t changed the fact that this community loves football. And I think that the Battlehawks are benefiting from the fact that they love good football.”

The fandom for the Battlehawks is, in many ways, sustaining the UFL’s operations. Last year, one-third of the league’s reported attendance of 513,105 came from St. Louis. This year the league has a total attendance of 98,753 through two weeks — with nearly one-third of that, 32,115, coming from Sunday night’s opener at The Dome at America’s Center.

The concourses at halftime were full of fans checking out the merchandise kiosks, team stores and concessions. Overheard were mentions about the legacy of football in St. Louis — saying “Kroenke” or “Goodell” can bring a dirty look — but mostly there was appreciation. The first downs drew a chant of “S-T-L,” the touchdowns celebrated wildly and the fans went home happy after a win over San Antonio.

As the doors flew open and fans went out into downtown, some for a nightcap at the bar and some to walk home, “Ka-Kaw” rang out repeatedly, a sort of call and response to showcase fandom for the home team. No matter what the league or what the nickname is, in this area, having St. Louis in the name is enough to be worthy of support.