Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen have the honour of opening the MLS stadium in St. Louis next month when they embark on a five-day trip to the USA. B04 will play a friendly against the newly formed MLS team St Louis CITY Soccer Club and will open the CITYPARK Stadium.
“The trip to St Louis is another milestone on the way to helping Bayer gain greater attention globally. We are proud to be part of this historical event and being able to inaugurate the CITYPARK Stadium with this friendly,” said CEO Fernando Carro. “Football has a long tradition in St Louis and the enthusiasm the new club has attracted ahead of the first season is impressive.”
Lutz Pfannenstiel, sporting director at the MLS side and a familiar face in German football, added: “This match will not only be great for St. Louis, it will be a great test for our team and an amazing opportunity to step foot onto the field at CITYPARK for the first time. The match against a well-known club that regularly takes part in European competitions like Bayer is a big thing for us and I’m sure the match will enthuse St Louis and the fans.”
St Louis CITY Soccer Club was established in 2019 and will partake in the MLS for the first time in 2023. Viewers of the Bundesliga will already recognise some familiar names. Roman Bürki joined from Borussia Dortmund, Joakim Nilsson (Arminia Bielefeld), Eduard Löwen (Hertha Berlin), Tomáš Ostrák (FC Köln) and Klauss (Hoffenheim) are all on the roster.
Six players from the United States have played for Bayer Leverkusen: David Yelldell, Jermaine Jones, Landon Donovan, Frankie Hejduk, Thomas Dooley and Claudio Reyna.
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