Cardinals’ Pujols joins St. Louis MLS effort
Having won the National League MVP award on Monday, the Cardinals Albert Pujols is getting involved in pursuing another prize: an MLS expansion team.
Pujols has signed on as a member of Jeff Cooper’s proposed ownership group that is working to bring an MLS team to St. Louis. The Vancouver bid has been trumpeting NBA star Steve Nash as one of its investors, and Cooper can match that (or quite possibly trump it) with a star of his own. (Both have two MVP awards in their respective sports.)
Pujols is the first investor in the group to be revealed by Cooper, who has indicated more members of the group will be released in the weeks to come. Cooper will be in Carson, Calif., for MLS Cup this weekend, but an expansion announcement is still some time away.
“It is frankly impossible to imagine a better partner in our effort than Albert Pujols,” Cooper said. “Albert’s commitment is a testament to the strength of the league, the interest and promise of Major League Soccer in St. Louis, and the overall quality of our team, stadium and youth complex plan. In Albert Pujols, we have someone who will be terrific not only for St. Louis, but for all of MLS and the global soccer community.”
YES!
This is awesome. It’s great to have more funding and the influence of such an iconic figure in St. Louis sports. I’m also thrilled to see Albert supporting the St. Louis community. It’s good to see athletes committed to their towns like this.
As a soccer fan from Canada, I’m hoping St. Louis is granted an MLS team. It’s like hockey in Canada. It would be criminal for MLS to bypass the cradle of soccer in America for someplace like Miami.
Way to go Albert. Give Albert a contract extension. Now we just need Anhuser Busch to step up as part of an ownership group. Oh wait….
We’ve been down this road before. Steamers, Stars, Ambush… MLS will not work in St. Louis and particularly not on the East side. Those defunct teams couldn’t make it when St. Louis actually had a strong corporate base, including a robust soccer-booster, Anheuser Busch. I truly admire Jeff Cooper for his determination and ambition, but within three to five years of acquiring an MLS franchise, it will be gone.