St. Louis City SC at CITYPARK
In 2019, Major League Soccer announced plans to add three franchises to the league, expanding from 27 teams to 30. A few months later, it was revealed that St. Louis City SC was approved as the league's 28th franchise. As a city, and state, with a rich soccer tradition, it was an ideal match. In February of 2020, the franchise and city broke ground on a brand new, 22,500-seat stadium, CITYPARK, built specifically to house St. Louis City SC. Both the franchise and stadium debuted on February 25, 2023, to much fanfare, and thus St. Louis City SC was born.
St. Louis City SC History
With an established history at both the club and amateur levels across St. Louis and the state of Missouri, MLS had eyes on a franchise in the Mound City for years. St. Louis was originally rumored as an option for relocation when Real Salt Lake was in talks of being moved after a stadium dispute. However, MLS eventually rejected the relocation bid despite getting approval for a $600 million soccer complex.
In 2016, there was a substantial shakeup in St. Louis when it was announced that the city's NFL franchise, the Rams, would be returning to Los Angeles after 21 years in the Midwest. As a city that displayed excellent fan support across all professional franchises, notably the St. Louis Cardinals in MLB and the St. Louis Blues® in the NHL®, the loss of the Rams accelerated government officials and potential financiers to add an MLS franchise.
Two years later, MLS officials met with Missouri bureaucrats regarding a stadium proposal, which plays an integral role in gaining support for relocation or expansion. In November of 2018, the city and a private equity group powered by Enterprise Rent-A-Car heir Carolyn Kindle Betz announced they would privately finance the construction of CITYPARK. Six months later, it was confirmed that St. Louis, in addition to Sacramento, would be the latest additions to Major League Soccer. St. Louis City SC is the first female majority-owned team in MLS history.