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Well, the World Cup has bid us adieu.

Spain is the champion.

But maybe, just maybe, we can cash in on the popularity of soccer.

60 million people, I guess, watched the final.

Didn't involve the USA.

So, Sam Page wants to expand the Creve Court Soccer Complex.

Bill, good idea?

The Page Soccer Complex?

Page Soccer Complex.

Right off of the Page Extension.

Well, I'm really not familiar with that territory, but it might work.

I mean, a lot of kids and teams travel and play soccer.

And there's already soccer fields out there.

Well, yeah.

I mean, so I have an elite soccer player in my family who sometimes deigns to come to St.

Louis to play her fancy sport.

And this is a huge business.

I have been to some of these places to see her play where it's like, you know, 45 soccer fields all lined up.

If this is actually a good bet to add more to St.

Louis County, there is going to be some for-profit company that is going to do this.

And they are going to make a killing, just like they are making in cities all around the country.

I don't think that for-profit entity is St.

Louis County, which can't even figure out how to properly run an animal shelter.

It's unbelievable to me, after the year we've been through and the austerity they're supposedly in, that we're talking about this idea?

Sarah, I've never agreed with you more.

You said, my God, the government might be wasting money.

If there's money in it, then let someone build it.

And like you said, these select teams will all run in here and do it.

First of all, I was hoping we were done talking about soccer with the World Cup going away.

They threw this in just for you.

But it's just like everybody's got these great ideas, so let the government do it.

How about let a for-profit company do it and let them make the money, let them run it.

And if it does go belly up, you don't have the county going, well, we need to come up with $8 million by next month.

But I thought this hotel-motel tax had to be spent on a sports-entertainment type venue, correct?

That is correct.

Now, I'm sure you could get a waiver.

What about the venue that they promised they were going to build out in North County and they got the support for expanding the convention center and did this whole bait-and -switch and we never heard about it again?

There are plenty of things that could make sense for this.

But they were going to build the velodrome in North County.

And then there was going to be a track, remember?

Yep, yep, yep.

But what's – I mean, Sam Page, entering lame duckhood, he has – he's, you know, now he's getting behind this huge soccer complex, this soccer behemoth that's going to bring people – probably bring the World Cup back.

But – Stop it.

And then he's, like, he's all behind the unification.

He's unleashed.

So he has been hiding those colors.

And I think that's good.

I do, too.

I do, too.

Sam Page unplugged.

Sam Page unplugged.

And look, I understand that he's only – I don't know that he's only doing it because he's going out of office.

But at the same time, good.

I mean, he's throwing some things out there that ordinarily wouldn't be even talked about.

Well, yes.

That's because the county council isn't talking.

But of course he's doing it because he's going out the door.

Otherwise, he would have done it before he went out the door.

Well, remember Francis Slay, as he was going out the door, came up with airport privatization.

Yeah.

Huge idea just as he's leaving.

Yeah.

That would just enrich his own chief of staff.

It was perfect timing.

I mean – Well, but the best time to do it is when no one can yell at you after a while.

That's a – yeah.

And Bill – I got some good ideas.

Bye.

I think Bill actually wrote that as Francis was – Mayor Slay was turning the lights off in his office on the way out.

Yeah, here you go.

He came up with that idea.

Yeah, pretty much.

Yeah.

Right.

So, in Chesterfield, a nice restaurant – Chesterfield.

In Chesterfield, I don't – Chesterfield.

Kirkwood.

They do not want a restaurant to remain open past 7 o'clock.

All right, Wendy.

We have our bedtimes.

Chesterfield, is this Chesterfield being Chesterfield-y?

Or are they just looking out for a neighborhood that just wants to keep it quiet and sane?

You are all such hypocrites.

If this kind of thing was happening next to you – oh, excuse me, you.

I know you'd be all right with anything.

Yeah, I'd be there drinking.

I would be so happy.

It's 7 o'clock, Wendy.

It's 7 o'clock.

It's 7 o'clock.

Okay, okay.

You can't do the politically expedient thing.

And I feel for these folks because they are – they have obviously invested in this area.

They have a very small parking lot.

This is one of my favorite structures in all of Chesterfield.

What are the names of it, Wendy?

It's a hog hollow.

Old House at Hog Hollow.

Old House at Hog Hollow, right.

And the Spyglass Summit.

And I have to check the mansions at Spyglass.

I have never seen that before.

It's in the official name that I read in the story.

Okay, I saw the same thing, but I've never seen that advertised.

So I just – I see where they're going with this and why they don't want a lot of traffic or why they don't want a lot of noise.

I understand it's only 7 o'clock.

They live there.

They're the next-door neighbors.

They have every right to voice their opinions.

On that, I agree with you.

Well, that's what this is about.

But it is Chesterfield being Chesterfield.

So, I mean, I'll tell you what.

When I was first at the Post-Dispatch, one of the biggest fights in Chesterfield was the Chesterfield City Council refused to allow a tire and auto center anywhere in the city limits.

And as one former council member said, you can build that sort of thing in Creve Coeur.

Okay, so don't tell me about Chesterfield.

They do not represent all of the people in Chesterfield.

Chesterfield was largely populated by those workers at McDonnell Douglas and Anheuser-Busch back in the 60s and 70s when all of those – But they were not the ones who formed the government in 1989, and I covered their first two years of existence.

Granted.

You are absolutely right, but that is not how we see ourselves.

I think Wendy's right.

These people bought their homes.

Stop the tape.

These people bought their homes and somebody's trying to change the whole idea.

And I was right by DeMond.

I mean, we had a lot of traffic.

You got a lot of traffic and a lot of parking.

Your airport theory is, you know, you bought the house and the airport was there.

Well, these people bought the house and the restaurant wasn't there.

That's right.

I'm glad you're being intellectually consistent here, but, I mean, come on.

We're talking about being able to serve up until 7 p.m.

like instead of 4 p.m.

You mentioned yourself it's a tiny parking lot.

We're not talking about a lot of people.

Sarah, you say 7, but it's going to be 7.30, quarter to 8 before people ask you.

Oh, clutch my pearls.

Thank you.

How will the neighbors survive?

And we should say that this is not like the Steak and Shake, not to hate on Steak and Shake, but this is like a nice little quiet restaurant.

I don't think this is a rowdy joint.

It is not.

It's not a rowdy joint.

No, of course not.

There's no rowdy joint looking for permission to stay open until 7.

It's not, but I do sympathize.

It's at 8 o'clock where it all goes crazy.

I do sympathize with people who bought in an enclave.

I love that too.

Hanging off the ridge overlooking the valley and the Missouri River in the distance.

I mean, that is not exactly the jet set.

So, you know, this is how they feel about it, and I think that they should be respected.

I get that they can say this, and I'm glad that they're airing their thing.

What I don't understand is why the entire Chesterfield City Council would go along with it.

It's like, come on, this is the most nimby of all issues.

Well, it starts with this, and then pretty soon you've got sidewalks.

That's right.

And bike caps.

And, heaven forbid, there's a tire and auto center out there where you can get your tires.

The only thing we have more of than office buildings are tire and auto centers.

I remember them.

I know.

I remember a certain company doing a commercial where they even pointed out.

They said, we're located everywhere except Chesterfield.

Oh, I remember that one, too.

Okay, speaking of restaurants, a reader shared with the St.

Louis Business Journal ideas for downtown.

They invited people to share their ideas, and one was to have like a signature restaurant like Lambert's, which is in Sexton, Missouri, home of the Throat Rolls.

That's a pretty good food.

So, you know, bring a name restaurant like that, and then kind of like people will follow.

There was also the idea of maybe creating like a Chinatown, which we used to have before.

It was been gone since the 50s, but it stood where the first, second Bush Stadium, I guess we would say, was built.

I happen to think that these are both good ideas, especially that Chinatown concept.

Now, hear me out, okay?

I know it would not be Chinatown, but at the same time, it would be the first step in maybe adding a cultural aspect to downtown St.

Louis, and then you could add others, like, remember Seven Kitchens at the malls?

For those of us who were born there.

So, I think it could work.

When we were in Dorset, Canada?

Right, right.

I think it could work.

You're going to get ice in town.

We have a Chinatown.

It'd be ice town.

My problem with, I mean, all the restaurants that want to come here are great, and Lambert's coming here, that's all great.

And any Chinese, Japanese, Afghani restaurant that wants to open up in St.

Louis, absolutely.

I just think it ends up being like an Epcot center when you're going to plan it.

It's going to have that fake feel.

If you had a Chinese community and it developed, cool, that would be awesome.

That would be absolutely awesome.

But I think if you try to say, this is going to be our Chinese area, it's just going to have that fake feel and it's not going to draw people in past one time when they're going to be curious about it, I would support it if they located it in Chester.

Thank you very much for that.

Well, it's got to close at 7 o 'clock.

It sounds too much like Japanese internment camp.

It's not.

No, it doesn't.

No, I'm saying, I mean, no, it meets Epcot center.

Epcot center and internment camp are a little gap there.

But the hill, we're going to have Italian land before we, it's kind of, it's not organic and that's the beauty of Chinatown.

Unless there is a Chinese community that is pitching this plan.

Right.

Joe Hill has frozen over twice.

Twice.

Wow.

This is the worst idea ever.

Well, you know, a lot of small thinking this week on Donnybrook.

Hopefully we'll do better because Charlie will be next week.

Thank you for hanging out with us on Last Call.

We'll see you next week on Donnyrook.