The Armory is dead

Good morning STL and happy Thursday! The Cardinals may have fallen short of the post-season, but with the end of regular season baseball comes the beginning of preseason hockey. The Blues kicked off their first preseason game this week with the regular season starting in a couple of weeks. Time will tell if this year’s roster has what it takes to commence Cup Run 2.0, but the state of sports in STL can only go up from where the Cards left off.

WEATHER AND SPORTS

AROUND TOWN
The Armory STL closes effective immediately

Green Street is in the news again, which seems to add fuel to the fire that they are facing some serious financial headwinds. Green Street is behind many of the new developments in Mid-Town and Forest Park Southeast, including being the developer behind the 250,000 sq/ft venue known as The Armory.

Unfortunately, The Armory officially closed the doors on Wednesday after less than two years in business. The rumors of its closing first started when a text message from a manager at The Armory notifying his employees that they were fired was shared on Tuesday night.

In a statement shared on Instagram (after the text message was leaked) by The Armory management, the closure was noted as “temporary”, although it wasn’t noted in the statement just how long that may be.

What was the issue?

In the statement on Instagram, Jacob Miller, who runs The Armory under a company named Brick + Bev who is an affiliate company of Green Street, essentially blamed The Armory’s failure directly on Green Street. Miller says,

Miller shared that Brick + Bev would pay a massive rent amount each month, but in exchange for the high rent, Green Street would fund the entire development of the project. When the project was left incomplete, the concept couldn’t generate the cash needed to stay afloat.

One of many complaints against Green Street

Miller’s complaints about Green Street don’t appear to be unfounded. According to the business journal, there are quite a few additional less than thrilled vendors who claim Green Street never paid them for work they performed on the Green Street projects.

Quick hitters

• Nelly is being sued by his former St. Lunatics group for uncredited work on his album, “Country Grammar”. Seems a little…late, considering Country Grammar was released 24 years ago.

• The STL School Board voted to officially remove STL Schools superintendent, Keisha Scarlett. Recall from a few newsletters ago, Scarlett was in the hot seat for hiring her friends from Seattle for lucrative contracts as well as the “consulting” businesses they owned.

• Green Street resolved its lawsuit against Bar K for unpaid rent. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but the dog park/bar hybrid will live on

WEEKEND WONDERS
What to do this week

Thursday

☠️ Megadeath at Riverport: STL is packed with concerts this weekend with a little something for everyone. Treat your ears to a Symphony of Destruction at Riverport on Thursday. Consistently voted one of the top guitarists of all time, Dave Mustaine can still shred.

⚡️ Back to the Future at The Fox: Great Scott! Back To The Future, the beloved, cinematic classic is now a Broadway musical with its destination now arriving in STL. In town through October 6th, this is a future you don’t want to miss.

Friday

🦀 Crabfest at Broadway Oyster Bar: The one-of-a-kind special crab menu will be out at BOB this Friday and Saturday. Live music, drink specials, crabs— what more could you ask for? All crab specials are while supplies last, so don’t miss it!

🎹 Billy Joel and Sting at Busch Stadium: One night only, catch the Piano Man and Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner at Busch. The concert is sold out, but tickets can be had for a reasonable price on the aftermarket. Fingers crossed the weather plays ball.

Saturday

🎛️ Evolution Fest at Forest Park: The two-day highly anticipated Evolution Fest is finally here this weekend in Forest Park. With acts such as Beck, Billy Idol, The Killers, Tom Morello, and Killer Mike, bring your poncho because there’s plenty to get wet over. Shout out to Morello who replaced Jane’s Addiction last minute!

🚗 NHRA Drag Racing at Gateway: The NHRA Midwest Nationals is a fan-favorite event on the NHRA tour and a key stop in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship chase. In the shadow of the St. Louis Gateway Arch, World Wide Technology Raceway has a long history of big speeds and thrilling NHRA racing action as the playoffs hit the midway point.

Sunday

🍺 St. Charles Oktoberfest in Frontier Park: Kicking off Friday afternoon and going through Sunday evening, this event is packed with tons of entertainment. Weiner dog races, brat eating contests, stein-holding contests, live music and more. Fun with kids or without— the beer will be flowing. Prost!

🐶 Fall Barket at BarK: Head to BarK for this family friendly event from 11am to 3pm. There will be live music, delicious drinks, and plenty of fun for your four-legged friends. With over 36 vendors signed up your dog can play while you browse.

ARCHWAY ARCADE
Poll question of the week

Winner of last week’s poll question:

The street with the most controversial street pronunciation is Gratiot according to NITL readers. The STL pronunciation of this word is, “gra-shit” (sounds close to the word “ratchet”).

Did you know?

The giant walk-in bird-cage in the STL Zoo was the initial structure that motivated STL to create a local zoo? Constructed for the 1904 World’s Fair, the “Flight Cage” was an exhibit meant to house various birds during the fair. After the fair, the cage was to be dismantled and shipped to Washington, DC to the National Zoo. However, STL offered to purchase the cage for $3,500 (a steal considering it cost nearly $18,000 to build). This cage was the first piece of what would become the STL Zoo a few years after.

Trivia

Sportsman Park was renamed to Busch Stadium in 1953. However, this wasn’t Gussie Busch’s first pick for the new name. What was his first pick which was shot down by the MLB?

SHARING IS CARING
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Trivia Answer: Gussie’s first choice was “Budweiser Stadium”, however, at the time, the league prohibited naming a sports stadium after an alcoholic beverage. Funny how Busch Beer was introduced 2 years later….