St. Louis Stars
EIN: 87-0911514 · Tax status: 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Overview
St. Louis Stars is a fast-growing youth soccer club based in St. Louis, founded in 2022. Despite being relatively new, the club has grown rapidly from $272K (FY2021) to $1.61M (FY2024) in revenue — nearly 6x growth in three years. The club’s promotion into ECNL Boys for the 2025-26 season marks the most credentialed milestone in its short history and elevates it into the elite tier of the Missouri competitive landscape.
Legal entity: St. Louis Stars Soccer Club Inc (EIN 87-0911514), 501(c)(3) since May 2022.
Financials
| Year | Revenue | Expenses | Net Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,605,634 | $1,332,169 | $543,942 |
| 2023 | $871,688 | $655,617 | $270,477 |
| 2022 | $309,047 | $309,856 | $54,406 |
| 2021 | $271,694 | $216,479 | $55,215 |
Source: ProPublica 990 filings (HIGH)
- 93.4% of revenue from program services
- Three-year revenue CAGR: ~80%
- Building net-asset cushion ($543K at FY2024) from operating surpluses, not external capital
Teams & Players
Ages U3-U19 (MEDIUM — master list). Hosts the Fore the Stars tournament. Player counts not publicly disclosed; given $1.6M revenue and a typical $1,500–$2,500 per-player blended fee mix, implied competitive enrollment of roughly 600–1,000 players (LOW — modeled).
League Affiliations
- ECNL Boys — Heartland Conference, promoted for 2025-26 from ECNL Regional League. First time the club has held a top-tier national platform.
- ECNL Regional League — historical home (boys) prior to promotion
- SLYSA and local leagues for non-elite tiers
- No MLS Next or Girls Academy affiliation identified
(HIGH) — ECNL admission confirmed via ECNL April 2025 announcement and TopDrawerSoccer reporting.
Facilities
- STL Athletic Center
- Creve Coeur Park Soccer Complex
Facility usage is shared / municipal — no club-owned complex identified.
Leadership
- James Thebeau — Executive Director ($48,000 reported comp, FY2024). Founding leadership.
- Tara Luhr — Director ($53,585 reported comp, FY2024).
- Will Eskay — Sporting Director. Quoted in the ECNL Boys promotion announcement (April 2025), credited with leading the technical buildout that earned the ECNL bid.
(HIGH for compensation; MEDIUM for current titles.)
Competitive Position
The Stars sit in the second tier of the St. Louis market behind SLSG (the dual MLS Next + ECNL anchor) and Lou Fusz. Promotion into ECNL Boys for 2025-26 positions the Stars as the freshest disruptor in the region — the only St. Louis club to grow its national-platform footprint in the last cycle. Heads up directly against St. Louis City SC Academy (free MLS-funded pathway) and Missouri Rush for boys talent in the U13-U19 range.
Investment Thesis
Interesting growth story but still small. ECNL Boys promotion materially increases strategic optionality — a sub-$2M club with a fresh ECNL credential is a different asset than a sub-$2M ECNL-RL club. Monitor for continued trajectory and any move toward Girls Academy or ECNL Girls. Not a near-term acquisition target at current scale, but a viable tuck-in for a Missouri platform once it crosses ~$3M revenue.
Open Questions
- Player count by age group / gender
- Whether ECNL Boys credential triggers a step-change in family fees or coaching spend in FY2026
- Girls program scale relative to boys
- Any plans for an owned facility or multi-site expansion