WWT-St. Louis City pact to raise tech bar



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St. Louis City FC adds WWT as founding partner Image: St. Louis City FC

The Major League Soccer (MLS) team St. Louis City SC held its inaugural home match at its residence – the Citypark in St. Louis, Missouri (US) – on March 4th, and the St. Louis CITY SC defeated its peer team Charlotte FC 3-1.

‘St. Louis City FC’ stated that the club has another reason to celebrate – the club recently welcomed World Wide Technology (WWT) as one of the team’s Founding Partners. The STLMade company, whose Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jim Kavanaugh is part of the St. Louis CITY SC ownership group, will serve as the Official Technology Partner of the club.

The St. Louis City SC is an American professional men’s soccer club based in St. Louis, Missouri, US. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference and joined in 2023 as an expansion team. The club was established in 2019 and plays its home matches at the Citypark, a new soccer-specific stadium next to the Union Station in Downtown St. Louis.

The Citypark is a 22,500-seat soccer-specific stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the home of St. Louis City SC, the City’s Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise. The stadium is next to the Union Station in the City’s Downtown West neighborhood, and was completed in November 2022, ahead of the 2023 MLS season which began on February 25th and ends on October 21st.

Founded in 1990, St. Louis, Missouri (US)-based the World Wide Technology (WWT), a global technology solutions provider with $17 billion in annual revenue, combines the power of strategy, execution and partnership to accelerate digital transformational outcomes for large public and private organizations around the world. Through its Advanced Technology Center, a collaborative ecosystem of the world’s most advanced hardware and software solutions, the WWT helps customers and partners conceptualize, test and validate innovative technology solutions for the best business outcomes and then deploy them at scale through its global warehousing, distribution and integration capabilities.

With nearly 9,000 employees and more than 55 locations around the world, the WWT’s culture, built on a set of core values and established leadership philosophies, has been recognized 11 years in a row by Fortune and Great Place to Work® for its unique blend of determination, innovation and leadership focus on diversity and inclusion. With this culture at its foundation, the WWT bridges the gap between business and technology to make a new world happen for its customers, partners and communities.

Commented Carolyn Kindle, St. Louis City SC’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), “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. 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.”

‘St. Louis City FC’ further stated that as the Official Technology Partner, the WWT has a presence throughout the 31-acre Citypark stadium district located in St. Louis’ downtown West and provides the infrastructure that powers the fan experience at the stadium.

Maintained Jim Kavanaugh, “The World Wide Technology is honored to join many other incredible organizations in the region to support St. Louis City SC. Our commitment to St. Louis and giving back has and always will be very important to me, the 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, the 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. The Pillars of the Valley recognize the 20,000 Black residents displaced from the once-thriving Mill Creek Valley neighborhood in the name of urban renewal in the 1950s. The 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, the 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 aged seven to 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.

Added Kavanaugh, “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. 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. The WWT Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Tom Strunk is one of those leaders and has been instrumental to our success. 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.”

The WWT has grown to become a global technology solution provider with $17 billion in annual revenue. With thousands of Information Technology (IT) engineers, hundreds of application developers and unmatched labs for testing and deploying technology at scale, the WWT help customers bridge the gap between IT and the business.

Soccer is a lifelong passion of Kavanaugh’s. Born and raised in St. Louis, Kavanaugh played collegiate soccer at the St. Louis University. In 1983, he was selected as Missouri ‘Amateur Player of the Year’ and competed for the United States in the 1983 Pan American Games. He also was part of the United States Olympic Soccer team and traveled with them for 18 months. Kavanaugh played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League for the Los Angeles Lazers and St. Louis Steamers.

Kavanaugh serves on a number of local business, technology, sports and philanthropic boards, including the St. Louis University and Stifel Financial Corporation. He is the Chairman of St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club. He’s also an investor/owner of the National Hockey League (NHL) team St. Louis Blues.

The St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club is a sports club dedicated to the development and advancement of all levels of soccer in the St. Louis metropolitan area of Missouri and Illinois.

Commented Kavanaugh, “I want to thank Carolyn and everyone at City for their incredible work and dedication over these past few years, and a huge thank you to all of our soccer fans and supporters. The home opener is going to be an amazing and memorable day for all of St. Louis.”

The St. Louis City SC played in its first-ever Major League Soccer match on February 25th vs. Austin FC in Austin, Texas.

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