In late 2002 the Cardinals, the City of St. Louis, the State of Missouri and St. Louis County reached an agreement on the financing of a new ballpark in downtown St. Louis. In an era when most sports facilities were built with a vast majority of public subsidies, the Cardinals deal was unusual because it was privately financed and involved so little public money.
While the Cardinals covered nearly 90 percent of the costs of the entire project with private funds, the City provided relief from a local admissions tax on tickets, while the state helped with public infrastructure costs to clear and prepare the site for development.
With six years of actual results now in, it is clear that the tax revenue produced by the new ballpark to the City and State have exceeded expectations. The Cardinals and their affiliates have paid over $175 million in sales, income, real estate and other taxes to the City and State from 2006 to 2011.
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | Total | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | $11,019,000 | $9,052,000 | $9,406,000 | $11,824,000 | $10,478,000 | $14,256,000 | $66,035,000 | $11,005,833 |
| State | $19,669,000 | $15,896,000 | $16,867,000 | $18,118,000 | $16,991,000 | $22,156,000 | $109,697,000 | $18,282,833 |
| Total | $30,688,000 | $24,948,000 | $26,273,000 | $29,924,000 | $27,469,000 | $36,412,000 | $175,732,000 | $29,288,667 |
