World Wide Technology Extends Naming Rights for Raceway, New GSL/SLDC Retail Incentive Program Helps Spur Business Expansion Downtown, And More
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World Wide Technology Extends Naming Rights for Raceway in the "Best Sports Town in the Country"
Acknowledging the impact the 700-acre motorsports complex is having on the Southwestern Illinois and St. Louis region, World Wide Technology Raceway announced today it will carry the company’s name for another five years. David L. Steward, Founder and Chairman of World Wide Technology — an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s Council — sees the investment as “key to long-term benefit and growth for our region.”
“David Steward and the Steward family continue to show how they exemplify civic leadership at the highest level by bringing leaders together around WWTR to expose youth to science and technology, inspire workforce development collaborations in underinvested neighborhoods, and celebrate St. Louis’ leadership in music and the arts,” said Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis, Inc., who also cited the leadership of WWTR owner Curtis Francois in establishing the Raceway as “a national destination for motorsports.”
Speaking at the announcement event, NASCAR President Steve Phelps said that St. Louis is "The best sports town in the country. It's a special city that you have here."
The third annual Enjoy Illinois 300 NASCAR Cup Series race weekend will take place May 31 - June 2.
New GSL/SLDC Retail Incentive Program Helps Spur Business Expansion Downtown
More than 40 businesses are hoping to open or expand their businesses in Downtown St. Louis, thanks to a new incentive program developed by GSL and St. Louis Development Corporation. The Downtown Retail Incentive Program includes four components designed to attract new retail activity and increase density and vibrancy at street level Downtown.
On Saturday, thousands of runners, walkers, and spectators will participate in the Greater St. Louis Marathon — previously the Go! St. Louis Marathon — a reimagined experience that showcases and celebrates St. Louis. More than 10,000 people are signed up to participate across all race events, a 30% increase from 2023.
“The Future is Going to Be Brighter than the Past”: Jason Hall on Winning STL
In a second installment of Winning STL, the video series from Greater St. Louis, Inc. Chair’s Council Member the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Publisher Ian Caso joined GSL CEO Jason Hall in the Andrew C. Taylor Center for Civic Collaboration, discussing population growth, public safety, and the role we all play in creating a vibrant, thriving metro.
“We will not transform this region through one organization,” Hall said. “It has got to be a movement identity… I encourage everyone to get familiar with [the STL 2030 Jobs Plan] and get involved. Be passionate about whatever you are, look at the plan, and just orient that toward those goals. And if we all do that, the future is incredibly bright for this region.”
Trivers Recognized for Butler Brothers Transformation
Trivers, a GSL Investor Council member and the architecture firm behind the transformation of the historic Butler Brothers Building in Downtown St. Louis, was named a winner of Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation’s 2024 Preserve Missouri Award as an outstanding preservation effort. The project exemplifies a cornerstone revitalization effort Downtown.
SupplySTL — an initiative of Greater St. Louis, Inc. that connects diverse small businesses with resources and opportunities — will celebrate National Small Business Week on Friday, May 3, during SupplySTL Connect, an event that connects local small businesses with resources, providers, and partners.
Thanks to the “Show MO Act” passed by the Missouri legislature last year, filmmaking is on the rise in St. Louis and throughout Missouri. The act incentivizes studios to make movies in the state, which offers affordability, ease of access, and wide-ranging geographic diversity.
RAC Awards $3 Million in ARPA Funding to Local Arts and Artists
The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis, in partnership with the City of St. Louis and Community Development Administration, has announced the first round of grant awards through ARPA for the Arts, a new program designed to address revenue and income lost during the height of the pandemic. The program has awarded more than $3 million in grants to 166 local artists and 54 arts organizations in St. Louis City.
A recent study released by RAC — a GSL Investor Council member — in partnership with Americans for the Arts found that the arts contributed more than $868 million to St. Louis' economy in 2022, with the sector generating 12,000 jobs, $611 million in wages, and four out of five tourists to the region.
History Museum Exhibit Shines in the New York Times
As part of a special section, the New York Times recently highlighted the “wonder and complexity” exemplified at the 1904 World’s Fair, explored in a newly revamped exhibit at the Missouri History Museum — a GSL Investor Council member. The exhibit attempts to marry what writer Valerie Schremp Hahn calls a “mythical moment” in the minds of St. Louisans with the complexities of its reality.
The Rep’s Next Phase to Be Guided by New Artistic Director
Prolific theater director Kate Bergstrom will take the helm of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis — a GSL Investor Council member — as its newly named Artistic Director. “When I think about the Rep, I think about how it really galvanizes world-class theater for and by its beloved St. Louis community, when it’s at its best,” she said.
