Updated at 1 p.m. to include more details from the ownership team
Time to add a new team jersey to your St. Louis sports collection 鈥� St. Louis City SC.
That鈥檚 the official name of . The ownership group, previously known as MLS4TheLou, announced the name, crest and colors during a virtual event on Thursday. The team鈥檚 colors are red and navy blue. The crest contains those colors, playing off the city's flag, a graphic of the Gateway Arch and lines symbolizing the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.
The St. Louis City SC name was selected from a pool of thousands submitted by fans to the ownership group. It beat out suggestions like Lazer Snakes, Kicky McKickertons Football Club and the St. Louis T-Ravs.
The ownership group originally planned to release the team details at a large, in-person event in March but switched to a virtual event at Harris-Stowe State University showing cardboard cutouts of fans due to the pandemic.
Carolyn Kindle Betz, CEO of the soccer club, and Lee Broughton, chief brand architect, shared their thoughts on the new branding in an interview streamlined online with sports broadcaster Dan McLaughlin.
Kindle Betz said that in filtering through more than 6,000 name submissions, they noticed that the word 鈥渃ity鈥� was the No. 1 theme.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great opportunity for us to expand the definition of city to include the north, south, the east and the west 鈥� everybody in the region,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut it also allows us to make sure we remember and highlight the diverse cultures and iconic neighborhoods but also to really embrace the proud heritage that St. Louis has.鈥�
Broughton said the 鈥淪C鈥� in the name serves as a double entendre for the club.
鈥淲e believe we are in America鈥檚 first soccer capital,鈥� he said. 鈥淐ity is often a term that designates to the club that is founded in that tribe or in that village, and so we were trying to do a few things, crossing a few aspects but really being able to have total honorability, which is why we see the landmarks play such an important role.鈥�
Broughton said he hopes to build an international brand with 鈥渟wagger鈥� that reflects a core fan base of 18- to 34-year-olds.
鈥淭his club really believes this city can dream bigger than its history, and that鈥檚 a huge part of what we want to begin with,鈥� he said. 鈥淟isten, we haven鈥檛 moved from another place, we鈥檙e not trying to reshape perceptions that are coming from a new geography. This literally is starting now, so we get an opportunity to build a perception of a super brand in the world of sport, and we believe we鈥檙e a world city.鈥�
Kindle Betz said merchandise 鈥� including scarfs, T-shirts and koozies 鈥� will be available soon on . This afternoon, she said the team will send eight Audi cars decked out in the new branding to drop off swag bags around the city. She did not name locations.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber shared his congratulations for the team in a video shown during the event.
鈥淭he colors and the team crest are absolutely terrific,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t really represents the team, the city, the stadium and everything this club is going to mean for the continued revitalization of such an important city in our country.鈥�
The team is to begin play in March 2023, after Garber delayed the start date for several new teams due to the coronavirus. CEO Carolyn Kindle Betz has said that extra year gives her more time to finalize corporate sponsorships, engage with fans and build up the roster.
The local MLS team currently employs fewer than 10 people, but Kindle Betz has said the franchise hopes to hire an athletic director and coach in the coming months.
Construction of in the Downtown West neighborhood is on track and expected to be completed by mid-2022.
鈥淭hat gives us about six to nine months to host different events in the stadium,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o it gives us an opportunity to break in the stadium, if you will. So when that first match is ready to go, hopefully it鈥檚 a very seamless, exciting process.鈥�
Follow Corinne on Twitter: @corinnesusan
