St. Louis United Soccer

[timpcrk]

In an ESPN article announcing the new women's soccer league, it says the St. Louis group is led by Jeff Cooper and the group is called St. Louis United Soccer.

Do you think this is just the name for the business side and the team will be named something else? Will this be the name of the MLS team too? Do you like this as an MLS team name?

Link: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=411235&root=us&cc=5901

[McGinty]

I think the name implies that it is the central group had is (or could be) involved with several soccer projects in St. Louis.

[Nerazzuri]

I think that's just the name for the business side, like Kroenke sports, or AEG, or Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, etc.

[sillinois]

I, too, think this is just a corporate facade. Remember, Cooper is a lawyer so he has plenty of experience creating LLCs, as this one is. I think it is interesting that it is not Cooper Entertainment Group, LLC or something like that. It means Cooper is planning to have a real investment group. Also, "United" could mean one of two things, either it means the investors are united or it means the teams/soccer activities are united. While the former seems more logical, I think it refers to "uniting" the St. Louis soccer scene. Two major league teams, plus the soccer park for local leagues - a "St. Louis United Soccer" scene.

Either way, reading the Soccernet article makes it seem that Cooper is 100% serious about bring an MLS team, and fast (and we can forget the USL business, that was never on his horizon as long as MLS continues to exist). He is not going to run a women's pro league out of rented facilities for long. If St. Louis does not get MLS/SSS in a couple of years (meaning the SSS would have to be approved this year), look for the women's team to close up shop. But, clearly, the women's team is what he meant when he promised pro soccer in St. Louis a couple months ago.

Still, this can only be good news.

[CL_2004]

St. Louis United(SLU)

or

St. Louis Soccer(SLS)


have nice rings to it and should be used as the MLS team names.

[McGinty]

St. Louis United(SLU)

That might cause a bit of confusion around here. ;)