MLS awards expansion franchise to St. Louis

MLS awards expansion franchise to St. Louis

The prospects of a Major League Soccer franchise ever calling St. Louis home appeared to have died two years ago when voters turned down the use of a business tax to finance a new downtown stadium.

Then a new potential ownership group came along.

Led by members of the founding family of car rental giant Enterprise, the city began to work anew last fall on its pitch for a professional soccer team. On Tuesday, the league officially announced that St. Louis would become its 28th club when it begins play for the 2022 season.

“Our ownership group has come a long way since we first announced our bid last October at Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club, and it’s an incredible feeling to now be able to say, ‘St. Louis is home to the first official majority female-led ownership group in MLS,”’ said Carolyn Kindle Betz, granddaughter of Enterprise founder Jack Taylor and the president of Enterprise Holdings Foundation.

Six other female members of the Taylor are part of the ownership group, along with businessmen Andy Taylor and Jim Kavanaugh, a soccer insider who was part of the first failed ownership team.

USWNT soccer lawsuit goes to trial May 5

LOS ANGELES

A judge has set a May 5 trial date for the gender discrimination lawsuit filed by the women’s national team against U.S. Soccer.

District Judge R. Gary Klausner assigned the date at a hearing Monday in Los Angeles, which came less than a week after mediation between the two sides broke down.

The players sued U.S. Soccer in March, alleging institutionalized gender discrimination that includes inequitable compensation when compared with their counterparts on the men’s national team.

The federation claims that compensation for each team is the result of separate collective bargaining agreements, and that the pay structures are different as a result.

The sides had agreed to mediate the dispute after this summer’s World Cup in France. The U.S. beat the Netherlands in July for its second straight title, and fourth overall.

The players and U.S. Soccer had requested a trial date after the Tokyo Olympics, which start July 25.

AP Source: Broncos’ Lock to miss preseason

DENVER

A person familiar with the situation says Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Drew Lock will miss the rest of the preseason with a sprained right thumb.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity Tuesday because the team hasn’t revealed the severity of the injury. Lock is competing with Kevin Hogan to be Joe Flacco’s backup.

Lock was hurt early in the third quarter of Monday night’s preseason loss to San Francisco. The second-round pick out of Missouri was tripped up trying to leave the pocket and landed on his thumb as he attempted to pitch the ball to a receiver.

Lock won’t need surgery.

Rams merchandise settlement gets OK

ST. LOUIS

A proposed settlement would give St. Louis Rams fans a 25 percent refund on years of tickets and merchandise they bought before the team announced it was moving to Los Angeles.

If approved, the settlement would end a class-action lawsuit that claimed fans would not have purchased Rams-related merchandise if they knew about the impending move. The Rams have denied wrongdoing.

A judge gave the settlement preliminary approval on Monday. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports legal filings say the settlement could be worth up to $25 million. It would cover purchases made between April 21, 2010, and Jan. 4, 2016.

Steve Stolze, lead attorney in the case, said a website will be set up in 30 days to instruct fans on how to get refunds.

The settlement covers only Missouri residents.

Associated Press