ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The wait is over! The next Major League Soccer expansion franchise is coming to St. Louis.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, St. Louis Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed, and Carolyn Kindle-Betz, head of the #MLS4TheLou ownership group, made the announcement Tuesday morning at the Palladium Saint Louis.
The name for the team has not yet been announced but St. Louis will have the 28th team in the league. There are plans for a new stadium to be built north of Market Street in downtown St. Louis.
The St. Louis club will be the first female majority-owned club in MLS history and one of the first such franchises in all of American sports. Local businessmen Andy Taylor and Jim Kavanaugh are also in the ownership group.
Commissioner Garber said talks about bringing an MLS team to St. Louis began in 2006 with then-Mayor Francis Slay. The talks continued with Mayor Lyda Krewson, the ownership group, and corporate leaders over the last 10 months to bring a team to the city. The local business community also met with the league. They said the area can support three professional sports teams.
Following the morning’s announcement, the festivities and jubilation continued that afternoon at a happy-hour event at Urban Chestnut in The Grove.
I guess my first day as an @MLS team owner has been pretty cool…and of course I wore pink 🤣 #MLS4TheLou #STLMade pic.twitter.com/QRfTivtOr9
— Carolyn Kindle Betz (@BetzKindle) August 20, 2019
It’s now official. We’ve got scarves. #MLS4THELOu. pic.twitter.com/Iw7lqQZTKE
— Martin Kilcoyne (@martinkilcoyne2) August 20, 2019
Sources say the club is already recruiting a former NCAA D2 backup goalkeeper turned TV journo to help lead the squad to @MLS glory. https://t.co/A8S6vsmJjs
— Mike Colombo (@Mike_Colombo) August 20, 2019
Official club statement regarding the exciting announcement for our city and supporters! #OneOfUs pic.twitter.com/7uNpdGfauD
— Saint Louis FC (@SaintLouisFC) August 20, 2019
#MLS4theLou pic.twitter.com/SYXZPJ7X4N
— Don Garber (@thesoccerdon) August 20, 2019
We have received confirmation that @MLS Commissioner @thesoccerdon will be coming to #StLouis on Tuesday, August 20th for a press conference. Will the #STL bid to become the 28th club in #MLS turn into a reality? We know we can’t wait for tomorrow! #MLS4THELOU pic.twitter.com/pI6R2Y0FNK
— MLS4TheLou (@MLS4theLou) August 19, 2019
