St. Louis CITY SC Introduces One of St. Louis' Largest Companies, World Wide Technology, as a Founding Partner
VIA stlcitysc.com
With St. Louis CITY SC nearing its inaugural home match at CITYPARK on March 4, the club today welcomed World Wide Technology (WWT) as one of the team's Founding Partners. The STLMade company, whose Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jim Kavanaugh is part of the St. Louis CITY SC ownership group, will serve as Official Technology Partner of the club.
"Jim has been a good friend and part of St. Louis CITY SC's journey since day one, and I am so grateful for his passion for soccer, partnership with the Taylor family and dedication to fueling growth in our hometown as he was integral to the effort to bring Major League Soccer to St. Louis," said Carolyn Kindle, St. Louis CITY SC's President and Chief Executive Officer. "To officially unite World Wide Technology and St. Louis CITY SC under this partnership is incredibly exciting. We are raising the profile of St. Louis on a global scale – within the tech world and within Major League Soccer."
"World Wide Technology is honored to join many other incredible organizations in the region to support St. Louis CITY SC," said Jim Kavanaugh. "Our commitment to St. Louis and giving back has and always will be very important to me, WWT and our employees. St. Louis as the home of our headquarters and the home of many of our employees made becoming a Founding Partner for CITY an easy decision. We are excited to continue to invest in the region and bring people together through the sport of soccer."
Given this passion and dedication to the community, WWT selected the historically significant southwest corner, Gate D entrance to CITYPARK, as the World Wide Technology Gate. This primary entrance gate is located adjacent to the "Pillars of the Valley," a permanent art installation along the Brickline Greenway that honors St. Louis' historic Black neighborhood Mill Creek Valley. Pillars of the Valley recognizes the 20,000 Black residents displaced from the once-thriving Mill Creek Valley neighborhood in the name of urban renewal in the 1950s. CITYPARK sits within the former neighborhood's footprint.
Furthermore, as part of WWT's commitment to expanding local diversity and interest of the sport and developing diverse homegrown talent, WWT will also sponsor the CITY Cup. The CITY Cup is one element of CITY SC's CITY Futures platform, which introduces more people in St. Louis to the game of soccer; it's always free, and open to children ages 7-12 in the area who are curious about the game and want to improve their skills on and off the pitch. The CITY Cup features players from each of the five CITY Futures satellite locations, allowing participants an introduction to the sport and the opportunity to meet and play with kids from different regional neighborhoods.
"Playing soccer at multiple levels, and the multiple experiences, values, behaviors and habits I learned from soccer, have been absolutely critical to my success on and off the field," Kavanaugh said. "The work ethic, grit, determination, teamwork along with compassion and caring came from both my parents and the sport. Many leaders at WWT have soccer running in their veins as well.
"WWT CFO Tom Strunk is one of those leaders and has been instrumental to our success," Kavanaugh shares. "We are passionate about building a strong soccer culture here in St. Louis that will positively impact our community, fans, supporters and the next generation of players."