Major League Soccer is coming to St. Louis – officially – thanks to the work of a female-led ownership group, the first in MLS history, and one of few in professional sports.
Owners of the St. Louis expansion team include Enterprise Holdings Foundation president Carolyn Kindle Betz, whose grandfather, Jack Taylor, founded Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and six other female members of the Taylor family. The ownership group also includes Enterprise Holdings executive chairman Andy Taylor, and World Wide Technology CEO Jim Kavanaugh, both who have deep roots in the St. Louis business and philanthropic community.
The female-led group first announced its proposal for a primarily privately funded stadium last fall under the slogan #MLS4THELOU.
“Our ownership group has come a long way since we first announced our bid last October at Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club, and it’s an incredible feeling to be able to say St. Louis is home to the first official female majority-led ownership group in MLS,” Betz said. “Our MLS team and stadium will only add to St. Louis’ Renaissance currently underway, and will provide us with a great opportunity to bring together many different segments of the community, uniting people in their love for the game.”
The yet-to-be-named team will begin MLS play in March 2022, in a new soccer stadium located in the Downtown West area of St. Louis. The process for submitting team names, colors and badge recommendations will begin soon, and fans and supporters will be engaged at several points in the process. The stadium will be the central element of a major development project in the district, which will also include mixed-use retail, restaurants and gathering spaces, open year-round to the public.
Betz said design of the stadium is still in the works but it will seat around 25,000. Architects involved in the project include Julie Snow, co-founder of Snow Kreilich Architects, and architectural firm HOK.
The addition of St. Louis to MLS is indicative of soccer’s explosive growth in North America. The city, which is regarded by many as one of the most passionate soccer markets on the continent, has a diverse population, devoted fan base and a great tradition in the game. The U.S. team that upset England in the 1950 FIFA World Cup included five American immigrants from The Hill in St. Louis. The men’s team at Saint Louis University has won 10 NCAA championships, and the Hermann Trophy – the Heisman for college soccer – is awarded annually at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
Soccer’s U.S. Women’s National Team played at Busch Stadium in preparation for the 2015 and 2019 FIFA World Cups. Each drew more than 35,000 fans – two of the top three crowds for the U.S. for non-World Cup games during that four-year span. In 2015, the U.S. Men’s National Team defeated St. Vincent and the Grenadines in a World Cup qualifier in front of more than 43,000 fans at Busch Stadium.
The city’s USL team, Saint Louis FC, whose arrival in 2015 was spearheaded by Kavanaugh, who played soccer at Saint Louis University and professionally, has amassed a spirited following. This year, Saint Louis FC advanced to the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
St. Louis has also become a virtual breeding ground for elite soccer players. The youth soccer programs of the metropolitan area include more than 50,000 players. Those programs have helped develop several professional players, including current MLS players Will Bruin (Seattle Sounders) and Joe Willis (Houston Dynamo), Tim Ream (Fulham) of the English Championship, rising star Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen) of the Bundesliga, and Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals) of the National Women’s Soccer League and the FIFA World Cup champion U.S. Women’s National Team. And many former MLS players are from St. Louis, like Taylor Twellman, Brad Davis, Chris Klein and Steve Ralston.
With the addition of the MLS team in St. Louis, 18 clubs have joined MLS since 2005, for a total of 28 teams in the league, fulfilling a vision for strategic expansion that has transformed the landscape of professional soccer across North America. St. Louis’ MLS team joins the 11-time World Series champion Cardinals of Major League Baseball and the reigning Stanley Cup champion, the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, as the city’s major men’s professional sports teams.
Home to nine Fortune 500 companies and several of the world’s largest privately-held businesses, which includes Enterprise Holdings and World Wide Technology, the club is also expected to receive strong support from the city’s corporate community. More than 20 CEOs from St. Louis-based businesses met with MLS chairman Don Garber and club ownership prior to today’s announcement.
About Major League Soccer
Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer features 24 clubs throughout the United States and Canada, with four more teams confirmed to join the league by 2022. For more information about MLS, visit mlssoccer.com.
About St. Louis Expansion Team
Major League Soccer’s first majority female-led ownership group, the St. Louis expansion team, has its sights set on the 2022 season and bringing the MLS Cup to the city. With 100% St. Louis-based owners, the group is committed to the continued growth of the city and the sport of soccer. For more information about the St. Louis expansion team and the 28th MLS team, visit mls4thelou.com.
