St. Louis City SC

Soccer has had an established history at both the professional and amateur levels in Greater St. Louis for more than a century.[4] In 2007, St. Louis was considered a possible destination for Real Salt Lake after the club founder announced he would sell the club if a new stadium was not built. From 2008 to 2009, St. Louis lawyer Jeff Cooper led a group of would-be owners who attempted to bring an MLS expansion team to Greater St. Louis, only to have the bids turned down in favor of other cities.[5] Despite approved plans to build the $600 million Collinsville Soccer Complex, MLS was unimpressed with the bid's financial backing and suggested Cooper expand his group of investors.[6][7] Cooper instead launched a second division men's club and a Women's Professional Soccer franchise. AC St. Louis played only one season in Division 2 before folding in 2011; the Saint Louis Athletica folded midway through its second season in 2010.[8]

In late 2014, the city announced plans for a new stadium to host both American football and soccer.[9] MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in January 2015, "St. Louis has got a lot of activity going on with a stadium that they’re trying to get done for the NFL's Rams. There's a big soccer community out there and we'd love to see a soccer stadium downtown like they're thinking about a football stadium."[10] In May 2015, Garber visited St. Louis to talk about a possible new multi-purpose stadium that could host soccer games. Garber cautioned that any possible expansion to St. Louis would occur after 2020.[11] On January 12, 2016, the Rams moved to Los Angeles after playing in St. Louis for 21 seasons. The Rams' move initially accelerated the talks of an MLS expansion team.[12]

In 2017, MLS began to consider adding a team in St. Louis, beginning in 2020.[13] The proposed ownership group sought public funds to help build a $200 million soccer-specific stadium next to Union Station in downtown St. Louis. On January 26, 2017, a funding plan was approved by the city's Aldermanic Ways and Means Committee, and later by the entire Board of Aldermen, that would have directed $60 million in city tax revenue to the new stadium. Voters rejected the plan in an April 4, 2017, referendum, leaving the city's MLS future in doubt.[14][15]

In September 2018, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on a meeting between officials with the Missouri Department of Economic Development and MLS representatives regarding a stadium proposal; St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson later confirmed that a new group was trying to bring a team to St. Louis.[16] St. Louis's MLS bid was effectively re-launched on October 9 of that year, with Carolyn Kindle and other heirs to the Enterprise Rent-A-Car fortune as the primary investors. The stadium location remained the same as in the original 2016 location, near Union Station.[17] This bid did not seek public funding through taxes or from the city, so the public did not get to vote on the stadium.[18] On November 28, 2018, the Board of Aldermen's Housing, Urban Development, and Zoning Committee voted 8–0 to approve the stadium plan.[19]

On April 18, 2019, the MLS announced plans to expand to 30 teams, up from the previous plan of 28. The league, currently at 27 teams, advised the Commissioner's office to advance the discussions with the Sacramento Republic and St. Louis bids. Both bids were asked to make presentations to the MLS Expansion Committee to "address each bid's final stadium plan, corporate commitments, the composition of the respective ownership groups, detailed economics on funding, strategic plans for fan development, commitments on player development and details on community programs."[20][21]

On April 20, 2019, two days after MLS announced it would advance discussions with the Sacramento and St. Louis bids, the St. Louis group released renderings and more information about their proposed stadium. The 22,423-seat stadium's design was produced by a collaboration between HOK and Snow Kreilich Architects. The group also promised that every seat would be within 120 feet of the field and that a canopy would cover the stadium.[22]

On August 20, 2019, MLS announced it had approved St. Louis as the league's 28th franchise, with play expected to begin in the 2022 season.[23] The ownership group consists of Enterprise Holdings Foundation president Carolyn Kindle Betz and female members of the Taylor family, and is the first female majority-owned team in MLS.[24] In the announcement, Don Garber said, "St. Louis is a city with a rich soccer tradition, and it is a market we have considered since the league's inception. Our league becomes stronger today with the addition of the city's deeply dedicated soccer fans, and the committed and innovative local ownership group led by Carolyn Kindle Betz, the Taylor family, and Jim Kavanaugh."[25]

On October 19, 2019, the ownership group released new plans for the planned soccer-specific stadium. The area was extended to encompass a 31-acre (13 ha) plan and would likely exceed the original $200 million cost estimate. The ownership group agreed to purchase and own the land along with the stadium and will not seek tax revenue or public financing.[26]

On December 17, 2019, the state of Missouri informed the ownership group that the $30 million previously promised by the state will no longer be provided.[27] However, on March 18, 2020, the Missouri Development Finance Board unanimously approved a package of incentives worth $5.7 million in tax credits to help with construction of the $458 million stadium and surrounding area.[28]

On March 25, 2020, the ownership group released a statement regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Site preparation for the stadium will continue as planned. Site preparation includes clearing all land where the stadium will sit and demolishing the old on and off ramps located on the site.[29]

On August 17, 2020, former Fortuna Düsseldorf managing director of sports Lutz Pfannenstiel was introduced as sporting director of St. Louis City SC and began building the club from the ground up.[30]

Former South African International and New York Red Bulls assistant coach Bradley Carnell was named as the team's first head coach on January 5, 2022.[31]

On February 25, 2023, St. Louis City SC played in their first match in Major League Soccer, winning by a score of 3–2, against Austin FC at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas.[32]

On March 4, 2023, St. Louis City SC played their first home game in Major League Soccer, winning by a score of 3–1 against Charlotte FC in front of a sold-out crowd at CityPark in St. Louis, Missouri.[33]

On March 18, 2023, St. Louis City SC became the first MLS team to win their first four games as an expansion team after beating the San Jose Earthquakes 3–0. This was the first clean sheet in St. Louis City SC history.[34]

On March 25, 2023, St. Louis City SC became the first team to win their first five games after beating Real Salt Lake 4–0 away. They also set a new record as the 3rd team to have 15 points in its first five games, joining the Los Angeles Galaxy in 1996 and Sporting Kansas City in 2012.[35]

On April 1, 2023, St. Louis City SC lost their first game in their history against Minnesota United with the score 0–1 in Citypark.

On April 16, 2023, St. Louis City SC defeated FC Cincinnati by a score of 5–1.[36] Cincinnati had the most points in MLS at the time with a record of 5–0–2 .With this win, St. Louis City SC became the most successful MLS Expansion team in their first eight games with 18 points.[37]

On September 30, 2023, St. Louis City SC broke the record for most wins by an MLS expansion club, defeating Sporting Kansas City 4-1 and reaching 17 wins. [38]

On October 1, 2023, St. Louis City SC won the Western Conference in their first year as a franchise and would also qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

On March 31, 2021, Purina, a pet food maker founded and based in St. Louis, became the club's first jersey sponsor and founding partner.[40] On July 14, 2021, Together Credit Union, a local credit union, became the club's second founding partner and the official banking partner.[41]

The most prominent soccer supporters' group in the St. Louis area is the St. Louligans. Their name references football hooliganism, the disruptive and disorderly behavior of soccer fans, though this type of phenomenon is not generally found among soccer fans in North America. The St. Louligans were founded in 2010 when several local soccer fan groups joined forces at AC St. Louis home games. They have provided strong support for a number of St. Louis area soccer teams, including AC St. Louis, Saint Louis Athletica, St. Louis Lions, and Illinois Piasa.[47]

St. Louligans was the official supporters group for Saint Louis FC, a USL Championship side founded in 2014. Saint Louis FC worked closely with the St. Louligans to encourage their support. Notable contributions of the group include awarding a new fan each week with a ticket, and coordinating with the Coopers, supporters for Louisville City FC, to create the Kings' Cup rivalry competition between the two teams.[48][49] Saint Louis FC folded in 2020.

Many new independent supporters' groups were organized in anticipation of the MLS squad's arrival, supporting City 2 throughout their 2022 campaign.[50] These groups include Saint Louis CITY Punks,[51][52] sporting denim vests and Punk rock vibes, as well as the No Nap City Ultras,[53] a supporters' group of parents and their young children, and STL Santos, a supporters’ group for Spanish speakers. 2022 also saw the arrival of a new drum corps and supporters' group, the Fleur de Noise,[54][55] who will take up the role of drumming and leading chants for the supporters.

The new stadium contains a supporters' section with space for more than 3,000 standing spectators, three capo stands, a 257-foot (78 m) long integrated tifo rigging system, a drum riser for drum corps during matches, and a dedicated supporters bar.[56]

The Chicago Fire have emerged as a regional rival for St. Louis City SC, mirroring the 160-year rivalry between the two Midwestern cities. For their first encounters in 2023, the two teams met twice in the space of a week, and Chicago won both matches despite their visitors sending large numbers of traveling supporters.[57][58]

St. Louis City has also developed an early rivalry with Sporting Kansas City.[59][60][61] St. Louis City SC won the first match between the two clubs on May 20 at CityPark.[62]

As of August 30, 2023[63][64]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SUI Roman Bürki (captain) 2 DF  USA Jake Nerwinski 4 DF  SWE Joakim Nilsson 6 MF  RSA Njabulo Blom 7 MF  CZE Tomáš Ostrák 8 MF  USA Jared Stroud 9 FW  BRA João Klauss 10 MF  GER Eduard Löwen 11 FW  USA Nicholas Gioacchini 12 MF  BRA Célio Pompeu 13 DF  USA Anthony Markanich 14 DF  USA John Nelson 15 DF  GHA Joshua Yaro 16 FW  USA Samuel Adeniran 18 MF  USA Owen O'Malley

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF  USA Indiana Vassilev 20 DF  USA Akil Watts 21 MF  SWE Rasmus Alm 22 DF  CAN Kyle Hiebert 23 DF  USA Jon Bell 24 DF  USA Lucas Bartlett 25 MF  USA Aziel Jackson 26 DF  USA Tim Parker 28 MF  USA Miguel Perez 29 FW  ISL Nökkvi Thórisson 31 GK  USA Michael Creek 39 GK  GER Ben Lundt 41 MF  USA John Klein III 44 MF  GER Max Schneider 46 FW  USA Caden Glover — MF  USA Tyson Pearce

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 30 MF  DEN Isak Jensen (on loan to Viborg) 17 DF  BIH Selmir Pidro (on loan to Zlín)

As of January 9, 2023[65]

Role	Name	Nationality
Sporting director	Lutz Pfannenstiel	Germany
Head coach	Bradley Carnell	South Africa
Head of sport science	Kelly Roderick	United States
Director of coaching	John Hackworth	United States
Director of sports performance	Jarryd Phillips	South Africa
Assistant coach	John Miglarese	United States
Assistant coach	Elvir Kafedžić	Bosnia and Herzegovina
St. Louis City 2 coach	Bobby Murphy	United States
Goalkeeper coach	Alexander Langer	Germany

As of July 17, 2021[66]

Role	Name	Nationality
Majority owner & CEO	Carolyn Kindle	United States