St. Louis CITY SC announced their team identity to the world on August 13th 2020. It was the culmination of a long and difficult journey to bring an MLS side to the Gateway to the West. Bids for an MLS team started as far back as 2007 with no success.
In 2019 the expansion bid was awarded, and St. Louis would finally get its MLS team, not only will there be a team, butalso a new 22,500 seat Soccer Specific Stadium located in downtown St. Louis. The team name was selected from over 6,000 fan submissions and the club’s primary colors are “City Red”, “River Blue”, “Energy Yellow”, “Arch Steel Gray”.
The team name celebrates the area’s diversity, iconic neighborhoods, and proud soccer heritage. St. Louis was considered “Soccer town USA” in the 70’s and has had a footprint in American Soccer since the 1900’s, for a long time it seemed that an MLSteam would be unlikely, buta social media movement and an airtight expansion plan finally got the world’s game back to the city of St. Louis!
St. Louis a city with a rich Soccer history
Soccer and St. Louis go as far back as 1907, when the St. Louis Soccer League was founded. It was the United States only fully professional soccer league at the time. As the years progressed the league cemented itself as the best soccer league in the country when SLSL teams competed in the finals of the National Challenge Cup from 1932 to 1939.
When the NASL was founded the St. Louis Stars played in the league from 1967 to 1977. Sporadically other professional teams popped up during the years as Soccer took many incarnations before the creation of MLS in 1996. The Streamers and the Storm played indoor soccer, the Ambush played in the NPSL, and AC St. Louis would play in the reincarnated NASL in 2010. Some of the most notable soccerplayers from St.Louis are Mike Sorber, Chris Klein, Pat Noonan, Brad Davis, Steve Ralston, Tim Ream, Will Bruin,Josh Sargent, and most notably Taylor Twellman.
Flirting with MLS in 2007
In 2007 there were rumblings that if Real Salt Lake could not get a stadium deal done in time, the then founding owner would sell the team and relocate the club to St. Louis. The potential ownership group included a local lawyer, Jeff Cooper, who had expansion bids turned down by the league in 2008 and 2009.
Despite a plan that included a soccer specific stadium the league office was not impressed by the financial backing and turned it down suggesting that Cooper should expand his investor group. Cooper moved away from MLS and founded a club in division 2 and a Women’s team, both would fold by 2010 and 2011.
One last push to bring MLS to St. Louis
After a few years where expansion talks had died down in October of 2018, St. Louis re-launched an expansion bid with Carolyn Kindle Betz and other heirs to the Enterprise Rent-A-Car fortune as the primary investors. The bid would include a stadium plan that was approved by the Housing and Urban Development committee. On the social media side famous St. Louis athletes, most notably Taylor Twellman, took to their accounts to push the expansion as MLS decision to award a team loomed.
During this time MLS announced it would expand to 30 teams rather than 28 as originally stated by Don Garber, the MLS commissioner, a few years earlier. The St. Louis ownership group pushed public awareness even harder and released renderings and information regarding a 22,500-seat soccer stadium if awarded a team.
MLS awards St. Louis an MLS franchise
On August 20, 2019, MLS announced it had approved St. Louis as the league’s 28th franchise and expected the team to begin play in 2022. The final ownership group consists of Carolyn Kindle Betz and female members of the Taylor family and is the first female majority-owned team in MLS.
In mid-October of 2019, the ownership group released new plans for the club’s future Soccer Specific Stadium, and the process to find a team name would lead to fans sending suggestions and designs. The club shared some of those suggestions on their social media pages.
And the team’s name is…. St. Louis CITYSC
After more than 14 years and a few failed attempts, the MLS St. Louis franchise will be called St. Louis CITYSC. A group of 20 local designers created the club’s new crest. The crest symbolizes a deep-rooted sense of unity and pride in the city and used the city flag as inspiration.The crest is a depiction of the club’s passion and purpose, through the iconic elements found across the St. Louis region.
The SC has a double meaning, standing for both Soccer Club and Soccer Capital. Given that St. Louis has had long ties to the sport dating back to the 1900s. The Gateway Arch, a classic symbol of St. Louis is present on the crest as well as the horizontal lines which depict the two rivers.
What team names were nixed?
Could you have imagined the team being called the St. Louis Lazer Snakes? Well, they were just some of the interesting entries submitted by the fans when the team asked supporters to help name the franchise.
“Kicky McKickerton’s Football Club”, The Slingers, and Chupacabras were some of the funnier entries. In the end, a more traditional team name was chosen.
The St. Louis CITY SC Stadium
The team will play in a 22,500 seat soccer-specific stadium located in downtown St. Louis that will include team offices, training facilities, and a commercial district. The stadium is situated to connect Forest Park with the Gateway Arch and is intended to field 17-23 soccer games a year, along with serving as a venue for concerts, high school sports, and much more.
One of the main traits of the new stadium will be that it will make sure that every seat will be within 120 feet of the field. The closest seats will be just 15 feet away from the action.
Setting the standard! Smashing records
When St. Louis CITYSC ownership and St. Louis soccer fans preached that St. Louis was a gem that MLS had ignored, they were not kidding. In September of 2020, the club announced that it had received 30,000 season-ticket deposits and had 50,000 deposits after the first 24 hours that season tickets were made available to the public.
St Louis CITYSC announced its fan presence with a bang and the public interest was there, in 15 minutes, they hit the 30,000 deposit mark! St. Louis CITYSC’s first day of season ticket deposits was record-setting. “I’m once again blown away by our fans, supporters and community, and how they continue to rally around City,” said Carolyn Kindle Betz, the club’s owner, and CEO, in a statement.
The St. Louis CITYSC fans
Support for the club is everywhere in the city, once the team named was officially announced fans from all over the city posed with the team scarf and shared their happiness at a new St. Louis sports franchise. The St. Louligans is the club’s official supporters club. St. Louis willbe one of the best-supported sides of MLS.
Naming a Sporting Director
Lutz Pfannenstiel joined St. Louis CITY SC as their Sporting Director, Pfannenstiel will serve as the first member of the club’s technical staff. He will be responsible for all on-field operations for St. Louis CITY SC, which includes recruiting coaches, hiring staff, identifying, and signing players, and creating and developing a youth academy.
Pfannenstiel was formerly a goalkeeper, coach, coaching instructor, and on-air talent. Pfannenstiel has been the only professional player to have played in all six continental FIFA membership associations.
The future looks bright for St. Louis CITY SC. With a rabid fan base and a soccer history behind them, they will be one of the great sporting stories to watch outfor in 2023.