Centene pulls out of Ballpark Village; is the project dead?
We’re reporting now that “Centene Corp.’s much touted move to Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis is dead.”
That’s according to the early version of our story on STLtoday here.
The company put out a news release today, coinciding with the release of documents the Post-Dispatch had requested two months ago related to the Ballpark Village project.
City leaders and Centene officials announced in September that the company would relocate its headquarters to the proposed retailing and entertainment district near Busch Stadium. Few details have been forthcoming about Centene’s $250 million proposal or the Ballpark Village development since then and speculation has been growing that Centene would pull out.
Now it’s happened. Are you surprised? What does this mean for the Ballpark Village project at large?
UPDATE: Here is the full text of Centene’s statement.
Ballpark Village was unable to accommodate Centene’s plans for our world headquarters which we deeply regret and are disappointed to announce. Since our announcement in September 2007 , we have been working closely with representatives of Ballpark Village to finalize details for this project.
Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, we could not bring our plans to fruition. We were committed and excited to move our headquarters downtown, as we recognize that Ballpark Village will help strengthen the region and we wanted to be part of this. We wish the Cardinals and the developers of Ballpark Village nothing but the best in their efforts to complete this important retail and mixed-use development.
We are currently resuming the evaluation of other potential options for the location of our corporate headquarters, both in and out of the region. We very much appreciate the commitment that leaders of this community, especially Mayor Francis Slay and his staff, have shown throughout this unusually long and public process. We remain hopeful that we can work together with local leaders to keep our growing company in the St. Louis region, if not downtown.
We will keep you updated as our search progresses.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Here’s the statement that just came out from the Cardinals and Cordish.
STATEMENT: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS AND THE CORDISH COMPANY
The St. Louis Cardinals and The Cordish Company believe that Centene would have been a great addition to Ballpark Village. We are disappointed that the parties could not come to an agreement, despite months of effort and the best intentions of the City, Centene, and the Ballpark Village team. Ultimately, the many complexities of Centene’s proposed project in Ballpark Village proved insurmountable.
We will now work immediately with the City and State to finalize all public approvals and commence construction of Ballpark Village. The Ballpark Village partnership is in the unique position of having its private financing in place, and we are ready, willing, and able to proceed. Our vision has not changed — Ballpark Village will be a world-class mixed-use project that will positively transform the City of St. Louis.
Kurt is the director of social media for the Post-Dispatch, where he has worked since August 2002. He's been a journalist since 1982, covering municipal government, courts, education and two hurricanes as a reporter before becoming an editor. 
As someone who spent a long 2 years in your town, I can’t say that this is a surprise. I grew up across the river and will always be a Cards fan, but also lived in South City. The mindset in the “Big City” was much smaller than what I experienced living in New Athens, Illinois. All of the natives are fixated on the past (ok there are some normal, well adjusted St. Louisans). Its a badge of honor to discuss what high school you attended or what parish you grew up in. Yet, not everyone is Catholic or cares.
I now live in Minneapolis with a stop in Omaha before moving here. I won’t even try to compare the Twin Cities which have a less favorable climate and the same river running through it. But Omaha had more civic mindedness and had a greater vision than St. Louis.
I will always visit my beloved Cardinals, but based on my couple of years there, I can’t say that I am sorry for you.
It cannot be argued Larry Salci, Bi-State’s former leader, made some mistakes. One thing he said, however, still rings true about St. Louis: It’s a bunch of clowns. That’s OK though. Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, and other growing cities who have real leadership will probably pick up yet another corporate HQ at the expense of STL’s continuing decline. Way to go guys.
Yeah OK Ha Ha. Omaha ? Youve gotta be on acid. And New Athens IL? LOLOLOLOL! Your a funny guy!
Fellas every city has its problems. No place is utopia. Seattle has the highest suicide rate in the country. Atlantas inner city is as crime rirdden as St Louis and now they are the hub for Mexican meth distribution. Dallas has some of the worst traffic and pollution in the country. And believe it or not its hotter and more humid in the summer than St Louis. Stop whining!
Hey Ha Ha how do you like those bridges up in Minneapolis? Sounds like a real progressive smart city. Shame they cant keep their bridges from falling in the river during rush hour. Ha Ha!
Downtown will be awesome. Where’s the optimism? Ballpark Village will be built, it just won’t have some publicly traded company that’s about to go under as its’ anchor.
I’m optimistic because I read the concern on this very board. Everybody wants it to succeed.
Yeah, we’re dissapointed from what appears to be a set-back.
I’m doing my part! I’m moving from South County to Washington Avenue on Tuesday!
I challenge the rest of you to do the same! Come on down! Let’s make it what we all hope and know it can be.
this does not look like an issue with the city government. It looks more like a Cardinal issue. Give Slay credit. The city has come a long way under him. Just think what happened to the city under the last few administrations. I hate we lost Centene to ballpark Village, but my guess is that it has more to do with whoever is trying to develop the village and not the mayor. We’ve come a long way. Downtown is looking much better. We have a long way to go, but has happened in downtown, happened under Slay’s watch. I’m a county resident, but I love the city and at least Slay is trying to bring the city back. I remember the midnight basketball mess, all the money wasted in the earlier administrations, with nothing to show for it. Take a look at downtown and drive around the city and see all the new consturction of homes. Give slay some credit. They city looks better now than in years. We’ll get there, but we need to do something about the crime. That really scares me..
why is anyone surprised? the city of st. louis is basically a whole in the ground anyway. seems appropriate to me.
bottom line: st louis is corrupt… NOT tourist friendly… sticky hands out everywhere for your fines, taxes, graft.
Let’s hand the city back to the Indians. Maybe they can turn things around….and there is already an abundance of casinos.