KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Major League Soccer announced plans to launch a brand new soccer team in St. Louis, bringing MLS play back to Missouri.
League commissioner Don Garber made the announcement Tuesday in St. Louis with an ownership group dubbed “MLS4TheLou.”
Garber hinted at the announcement earlier in the morning, tweeting a photo of downtown St. Louis.
#MLS4theLou pic.twitter.com/SYXZPJ7X4N
— Don Garber (@thesoccerdon) August 20, 2019
In the announcement, Garber said the team would start MLS play in 2022 in a new stadium in the Downtown West District of St. Louis.
“It is with great pride that we welcome St. Louis to Major League Soccer,” Garber said in a statement. “St. Louis is a city with a rich soccer tradition, and it is a market we have considered since the league’s inception.”
U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, trumpeted the announcement, which comes two months after the St. Louis Blue hoisted the Stanley Cup for the first time.
“It’s been a terrific year for sports in St. Louis and it keeps getting better," Blunt said in a statement. "Bringing Major League Soccer to St. Louis will add a new chapter to the city’s proud soccer history. From the 1950 World Cup to today, some of the best players in the country have been St. Louisans. With hundreds of kids and student athletes already out on the field, having a professional team in the community will inspire the next generation of champions. This is great news for local families and businesses, St. Louis is a perfect Major League Soccer city.”
Sporting Kansas City, a member of the MLS Western Conference, plays across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas.
Kansas City remains the only Missouri city with an NFL franchise.
