Soccer and the city of St. Louis have long had a historic and fruitful association.
In fact, the sport has been played in the city for well over a century - dating back to the 1880's - and that includes across all levels ranging from youth, university, and amateur all the way up to the professional tier. In fact, just over a decade ago, St. Louis was even mooted as a possible relocation for MLS side Real Salt Lake in 2007 when the club's then owner was threatening to sell the club if a new stadium wasn't built.
Well, finally, after a long wait, this soccer-mad city will have a professional club of their own. In August 2019, MLS announced they'd approved St. Louis as the league's 28th franchise, with expectation that the team would begin play in the 2022 MLS season (which now has been pushed back to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). This was especially notable because who makes up the team's ownership group. Currently, St. Louis City SC's owners includes not only Enterprise Holdings Foundation president Carolyn Kindle Betz but also other heiresses of the billionaire Taylor family who founded the Enterprise Rent-A-Car company, making it the first female-majority-owned team in MLS history.
And now, they've announced their first sponsor - Purina. Like St. Louis City SC, Purina is currently led by a woman: Nina Leigh Krueger is the organization's president and CEO. That means that for the first time in MLS history, we have a female-majority-owned team linking up with a female-led organization as its primary sponsor. Exciting times, indeed, for sports in the United States in the 21st century.
Although the financial details are still not specific, it already does look set to be a very unique and promising partnership. Sources close to both parties have mentioned that given that Purina is a pet food manufacturer, fans will get to see a very innovative and "pet-centric" approach, with pet adoption events and more pet-friendly events being incorporated into the traditional soccer club calendar.
So, might we see fans kitted out in their favorite players' jerseys, alongside their cats and dogs in the stands on special days? Perhaps! It's certainly going to be a very interesting 2023 MLS season once St. Louis City SC gets up and running, that's for sure.
