St. Louis CITY SC to debut stadium against Bayer Leverkusen

St. Louis CITY SC opens up its stadium with a friendly against German outfit Bayer Leverkusen.

The club, which earned MLS expansion rights in 2020, begins MLS play next season in 2023. However, this friendly against Bayer Leverkusen is the first game in the lavish new stadium.

The German club has been a mainstay near to top of the table in the Bundesliga in recent seasons. Also, Leverkusen currently plays in the UEFA Champions League, even if it is bottom of the group after five games.

“An international friendly with a Champions League-caliber club is the perfect way to introduce our new world-class stadium and district to our fans, the greater soccer community and the world,” St. Louis CITY SC President and CEO, Carolyn Kindle stated on Thursday.

“The Bayer 04 friendly will be the first opportunity for fans to see a match in our new 22,500-seat stadium and sample our best-in-class STLMade fan experience, which will reflect St. Louis’ diverse culinary and music scene, ahead of our inaugural 2023 season.”

St. Louis CITY kicks off new stadium against Bayer Leverkusen

The international friendly will take place on Wednesday, November 16th at 7PM. Tickets for the game are set to go on sale on Friday, October 28 at 2PM local time. Season ticket members will also have presale priority access. These tickets can be bought on the team’s official app, as well as SeatGeek.com.

“We are incredibly excited to be part of this historic event at CITYPARK with our friends at St. Louis CITY SC,” Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro also said.

“The history of the sport in St. Louis runs deep and the passion St. Louis CITY SC have already built up for the inaugural season with their fans and broader community is amazing to see.”

“We look forward to being part of that energy and enthusiasm with this kick-off match at the new stadium and our second trip to North America in just 6 months as we continue to build the Bayer 04 brand in key markets around the world.”

CITYPARK stadium is located in the downtown west neighborhood of St. Louis. Construction costs were reportedly over $450 million to complete the arena. Special awnings to help keep weather out, while also trapping in crowd noise, are included in the stadium’s design.