St. Louis Soccer United
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| Full name | Athletic Club of St. Louis |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Dissolved | 2011 |
| Stadium |
Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park Fenton, Missouri |
| Capacity | 6,000 |
| Owner | Jeff Cooper |
| Head Coach | Dale Schilly |
| League | USSF Division 2 Professional League |
| 2010 | Regular Season: 5th, NASL Overall: 11th Playoffs: DNQ |
AC St. Louis was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in December 2009, the team played its first and only season the next year in the NASL Conference of the temporary USSF D2 Pro League, the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. With plans to join the new North American Soccer League the following season, the club folded in January 2011 under unmanageable financial strain.
St. Louis played its home games at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in nearby Fenton, Missouri. The team's colors were green, white, and yellow. St. Louis was first coached by Claude Anelka, the older brother of French international striker Nicolas Anelka; however, he was replaced by Dale Schilly midway through the club's only season.
The men's team was one of three parts of the sports club owned by St. Louis-native Jeff Cooper. Saint Louis Athletica of Women's Professional Soccer, folding in 2010, and a large youth soccer league throughout the metropolitan area were the other components of AC St. Louis.
The origins of A.C. St. Louis lie in Jeff Cooper's bid to land a Major League Soccer expansion team. With his investment group St. Louis Soccer United (SLSU), Cooper twice attempted to bring MLS to the St. Louis metropolitan area only to have both bids turned down in favor of other cities in 2008 and 2009. Despite approved stadium plans to build the Collinsville Soccer Complex in suburban Collinsville, Illinois, MLS was not impressed with the bid's financial backing and suggested Cooper expand his group of investors. As the price of the expansion fee rose, Cooper refocused his efforts to building a second division club.
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