<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=189NnM_1GvRFTC600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=189NnM_1GvRFTC600" width="1478" height="628" ></figure>Eleven years ago, it was announced that Major League Soccer was coming to University and Snelling avenues in St. Paul. That generated excitement about busy game days and an influx of new bars and restaurants. One idea was for soccer club marches to the stadium from venues including O’Gara’s.O’Gara’s, which operates at the Minnesota State Fair, closed its longtime Selby-Snelling location in 2018. Two of three bars across from Allianz Field have also closed.So how to jump-start the area’s hospitality industry? The latest idea, a commercial development district centered on University and Snelling, is moving ahead at a slower pace than city officials envisioned.St. Paul originally used the districts to create entertainment areas. But in more than 30 years the districts were largely used to allow single on-sale liquor licenses outside of a longtime per-council ward cap.In October, the St. Paul City Council allowed Dilla Sports Bar and Ethiopian Restaurant to seek an on-sale liquor license through a district. But the notion of allowing more on-sale liquor licenses will be delayed to allow for more community input.Dilla’s owners can currently serve liquor and stay open until midnight as a restaurant. City officials were told that midnight closing means patrons must sometimes leave before television sports events are finished.Staying open until 2 a.m. requires a different on-sale liquor license and creation of the district.The plan calls for a district with four quadrants around the University-Snelling intersection. Each quadrant would have one new on-sale liquor license that allows 2 a.m. closings. That would bring the total number of licenses in the neighborhood to seven.Neighborhood district councils and Midway Chamber of Commerce said the plan lacked enough public input. At public hearings, business owners and residents questioned the impact of more liquor on a neighborhood already dealing with challenges.Feedback will be collected for two months. DSI Deputy Director Dan Niziolek said the added time wouldn’t be a problem.The Snelling-University district has one characteristic that sets it apart from others. It is in both Wards One and Four, which meant two separate neighborhood hearings were held in October.City Council members Anika Bowie and Molly Coleman agreed to split the district request. While she has heard many comments, the other part of the district needs more input.“The community engagement doesn’t stop when we vote today,” said Bowie.Of the four quadrants, the largest would include the entire 35-acre Allianz Field/United Village “superblock” bounded by Saint Anthony, Snelling and University avenues and Pascal Street. It has a hall in the stadium, two new restaurants and a restaurant in a hotel under construction.Those businesses already have or will have liquor licenses they need without district status. Project advisor Mike Hahm said that while there is support for increased neighborhood vitality, “the area has been challenged.”</div></body>

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Eleven years ago, it was announced that Major League Soccer was coming to University and Snelling avenues in St. Paul. That generated excitement about busy game days and an influx of new bars and restaurants. One idea was for soccer club marches to the stadium from venues including O’Gara’s.

Commercial development district debate continues

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Eleven years ago, it was announced that Major League Soccer was coming to University and Snelling avenues in St. Paul. That generated excitement about busy

Commercial development district debate continues

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