Walter Metcalfe

Not to be confused with Walter Metcalf.

Walter Lee Metcalfe Jr. (born December 19, 1938) is a lawyer based in St. Louis, Missouri. Noted for his roles in the purchase and sale of professional sports teams and in numerous civic improvement projects, he has been called "perhaps the region's most important" dealmaker by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper.[1]

Early life and education

Metcalfe was born in St. Louis and grew up in University City, a first-ring suburb. He attended John Burroughs School, a private school in nearby Ladue, Missouri, graduating in 1956.[2] He later graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and from law school at the University of Virginia.[1]

Career

Metcalfe joined the Armstrong Teasdale law firm in St. Louis in 1964, then in 1982 moved to Bryan Cave, an international law firm headquartered in St. Louis. He would eventually serve as its chairman for a decade.[1]

Metcalfe has helped negotiate many high-profile deals in St. Louis and beyond, including the agreements that led to the construction of the Scottrade Center hockey arena, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation museum, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and the Edward Jones Dome football stadium.[1][3] He twice helped negotiate the sale of the St. Louis Blues hockey team, and negotiated its purchase three times.[1] He also wrote the contracts that sold the New England Patriots to James Orthwein, an heir to the St. Louis-based Busch brewing family; and then to Boston businessman Robert Kraft.[1]

In 2003, he was named chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.[4]

Beginning around 2007, he drove a $380 million renovation of the Gateway Arch grounds, drawing the participation of a half-dozen agencies and designing regional sales tax and fundraising campaigns to fund it.[1][5][6][3] He headed the project's lead organization, CityArchRiver, until 2015.[7]

He has served on boards of several prominent local organizations, including Washington University in St. Louis, the Danforth Foundation, Pulitzer Arts Foundation, and more.[4]

In 2017, the Post-Dispatch named Metcalfe its Citizen of the Year.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Hunn, David (Jan 3, 2016). "Walter Metcalfe, a deal-maker, a builder". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2024-12-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ "John Burroughs Reporter, Winter 2021". John Burroughs School. 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  3. ^ a b O'Neil, Tim (2014-08-23). "Race on to get designs for Arch grounds". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2014-08-23. Retrieved 2024-12-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ a b "Metcalfe named chair of St. Louis Fed's Board - Central Banking". St Louis Business Journal. 2003-11-18. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  5. ^ Minutillo, Josephine (June 29, 2018). "Gateway Arch Grounds and Museum". Architectural Record. Archived from the original on 2024-07-15. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  6. ^ Litt, Steven (2021-08-22). "12 takeaways for Cleveland's new lakefront plan, based on lessons from St. Louis and Cincinnati". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on 2021-08-22. Retrieved 2024-12-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ Duffy, Robert W. (2015-06-17). "Metcalfe makes early exit from CityArchRiver; Andrew Taylor replaces him". St. Louis Public Radio. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  • Bio at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP