Major League Soccer’s newest franchise now has its first-ever home kit to along with a name, a crest and a new stadium.
St. Louis City SC unveiled their inaugural home kit on Wednesday, November 16, just hours before their MLS Next Pro team, St. Louis City SC 2, took on German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in the first-ever match at the new 22,500-seat Citypark in St. Louis.
The kit, made by Adidas, is predominantly “City Red,” a shade that straddles the line between light red and magenta. The right side of the front of the jersey features a pattern of tonal diagonal lines meant to mimic the “iconic geographic pattern” of the stainless steel plates on the city’s famous Gateway Arch.
The kit also sports a navy blue crew neck collar, navy blue Adidas shoulder stripes, and navy blue sleeve cuffs. Yellow trim appears around the cuffs and part of the collar.
Yellow taping runs down each side and across the back hem of the shirt, and a navy blue panel appears under each arm. The template is the same Adidas is using for several national team kits at this year’s FIFA World Cup.
“It was important for the design of our inaugural jersey to reflect who we are as a club and as a community: proud, contemporary, and not afraid to stand out. The Arch, the flag, the colors — we love that it feels unapologetically St. Louis, today but also with an eye towards our future,” said Lee Broughton, St. Louis City SC’s chief brand architect.
The slogan “OUR CITY OUR HOME” is printed inside the collar, and the civic flag of St. Louis appears on the jock tag. Names and numbers will be printed on the back of the shirt — which is solid City Red — in white.
Pet food company Purina is the front-of-shirt sponsor, while the logo of BJC HealthCare appears on the right sleeve. City’s home kit is the first MLS kit to feature an Apple TV+ patch on the left sleeve under the league logo. All 29 MLS teams will have Apple TV+ patches on their kits this season after the sides reached a 10-year broadcasting rights deal that starts with the 2023 season.
Replica versions available for sale on MLSStore.com Wednesday evening didn’t have any yellow trim on the collar, and both the yellow and navy blue trim was missing from the sleeve cuffs.
St. Louis City SC announced its name and crest in August 2020. The club was originally supposed to begin playing in 2022, but that was pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
MLS has announced that its 2023 season will start on February 25, but the league hasn’t yet released a detailed schedule for each team. It also hasn’t yet announced if St. Louis City SC will play in the Eastern Conference or the Western Conference; each had 14 teams in 2022.