2022 in Review: Citypark Stadium Hosted Its First Game

A look back at what happened in St. Louis in 2022

Dec 28, 2022 at 6:01 am

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard - Inline - Content",
            "component": "41932919",
            "insertPoint": "5th",
            "startingPoint": "3",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "3",
            "maxInsertions": 100
          }
          
        ]

click to enlarge

Benjamin Simon

The first view of CITYPARK Stadium when walking into the stadium before the game.

For years, St. Louis has clamored for an MLS team. Nearly begged. A conversation with any St. Louis sports fan ended in some version of, "Yeah, we like the Cardinals, but trust me, St. Louis is really a soccer city." You haven't heard of the Hill kids who played in the World Cup? Or St. Louis Soccer League, the USA's only professional soccer league at the time? Or the U.S. National Team players Taylor Twellman and Becky Sauerbrunn? St. Louis, they say, is a soccer city. A soccer city needs an MLS team. Again and again, the city seemed close. Minor-league team after minor-league team floated by. Soccer seemed to be gaining momentum nationwide, and MLS had to be coming to St. Louis.

Then, finally, it happened. In 2018, MLS approved a professional soccer team in St. Louis. Fans rejoiced. But still, it would take time. It would take years before the stadium was built. Even more years until the team arrived. More until the expansion team was actually good. So fans waited, watching the stadium in midtown rise from the ground — until finally, in 2022, the team announced the 22,500-person, state-of-the-art, super-loud stadium would open to the public. Then, days before, it stalled again. Flooding and electrical failures flared, and suddenly, soccer fans were waiting weeks again, without any idea of when professional soccer would arrive in St. Louis.

Then, finally, it happened. CITYPARK opened, hosting a game between St. Louis City SC 2 and Leverkusen. It was a friendly match that didn't count for anything. But it felt like a playoff game. People tailgated outside of the stadium for hours in the 30-degree weather. Fans filled nearly every seat. The supporter section pounded drums for the entire game. And the stadium was stunning. Compact and loud, sleek and very St. Louis — the only team in the MLS with food and beverage options from 100 percent local vendors. After years of waiting, it checked all of the right boxes. Now, we will just have to wait until 2023 for the MLS team.

St. Louis Soccer Fans Bring the Hype to MLS Stadium Debut: Despite the cold, $458 million CITYPARK stadium was packed with fans — and they were loud

Fleur de Noise Plans to Make it Loud in St. Louis' CITYPARK Stadium: The new fan club includes a drum corps and has created St. Louis soccer chants

RFT Asks: With MLS Soccer Finally Here, How Are the St. Louligans Faring?: We spoke with Brad Demunbrun, a founding member of the soccer fan club since 2010

Welcome to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of 2022, a look back at the ups and downs of a turbulent year in the St. Louis region.

Coming soon: Riverfront Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting St. Louis stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.

Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter