Stan Kroenke's decision to move St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles in 2016 has led to the emergence of a brand-new football club. The American billionaire caused uproar and left local fans furious after he applied to relocate the team ahead of the owners meeting where the move was approved.
With supporters already upset about developments, it's safe to say Kroenke's 29-page document used for the application didn't help matters. It was critical of St. Louis for its declining population, questioned the region's economic future and doubted whether the city could support baseball's Cardinals and hockey's Blues as well as an NFL franchise.
It started a four-and-a-half-year-long lawsuit filed by St. Louis over the relocation, which resulted in Kroenke paying a $571million (£478m) settlement fee after league teams collectively contributed $219million towards the $790million total.
READ MORE: Stan Kroenke sets Folarin Balogun transfer fee for Arsenal as Bukayo Saka advice pays off
However, the Arsenal owner is now inadvertently giving sport followers based in St. Louis something to get excited about once again following a controversial period. The Rams' transition led to talk that a Major League Soccer team could arrive in the Missouri city, though commissioner Don Garber delivered a cautious response to the rumours at the time: "It gives it a little more momentum," he said.
It turns out that the 'little' momentum Garber referred to was indeed far greater, with MLS awarding St. Louis an expansion franchise just three years later before a purpose-built stadium and downtown soccer complex were successfully built and opened for the new team by the end of 2022.
If that wasn't remarkable enough, St. Louis City SC won their first ever MLS game last weekend in a five goal thriller, beating Austin FC 3-2 to mark their historic league debut with a victory.
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