ST. LOUIS (KMOX) — Saint Louis FC and its fleur-de-lis logo are about to become a part of St. Louis's soccer past.
STL FC is folding after the 2020 United Soccer League Championship season. The club had until the end of August to inform the USL whether or not it will be playing in 2021.
The team released a statement on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, the financial impact of COVID-19 during 2020 and beyond make it too difficult to continue operations,” said Tom Strunk (aka “Fred”), CFO. “We’re sad to see STLFC come to an end but are proud of what we and our supporters have accomplished. Our collective hard work to bring professional soccer back to our city has been extremely rewarding. Lastly, I’d like to personally thank the St. Louligans for their support, friendship and the memories over the past 6 years.”
Saint Louis FC is owned by World Wide Technologies CEO Jim Kavanough and has called World Wide Technology Park in Fenton home since 2014. However, while Kavanaugh is a minority investor in MLS's Saint Louis City SC, there never appeared to be a connection between the two teams.
“I want to personally thank all of our corporate partners, fans and, of course, the St. Louligans,” said Jim Kavanaugh, CEO. “Collectively, we created something special that brought the St. Louis soccer community alive again. The support of our fans was the foundation of every accomplishment in the last six years and we’re very proud of every aspect of how we operated the club. The future of soccer in our city is in a better place because of Saint Louis FC and our passionate supporters. Thank You!”
Words cannot express what we’re feeling today. https://t.co/nLiK5su7lR
— St.Louligans ☠️ (@StLouligans)
August 25, 2020 The St. Louligans fan club formed before the club's existence in 2010 and its rabid fans occupied the bleachers in the southeast corner since the team's inception in 2014. The team averaged 4,352 fans during the 2019 regular season, putting the team at about average in the USL. It made waves last year with a U.S. Lamar Hunt Open Cup quarterfinal run that saw it beat the Chicago Fire and FC Cincinnati of the MLS before losing to Atlanta United.
© 2020 KMOX (Entercom). All rights reserved.
