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For more information, contact: MISL ALL-STAR WEEKEND COMES TO ST. LOUISMISL LEGENDS AND MISL ALL-STARS WILL PLAY IN ST. LOUIS (St. Louis, MO – June 9, 2003) Major Indoor Soccer League Commissioner Steve Ryan announced today that the 2004 MISL All-Star Weekend will be held in St. Louis from February 27 to 29, 2004. The MISL was pleased to approve the application of the host St. Louis Steamers, as a celebration of the return of the Steamers, a tribute to the great fans of St. Louis, and a salute to the rich historic roots of the game of soccer in St. Louis. The 2004 MISL All-Star Game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports World. The League’s three-day gala festival features a full calendar of soccer, social, and community events designed to engage the soccer community in a variety of ways. The weekend will begin Friday, February 27, 2004 with a daylong program of visits by All-Star players to schools, hospitals, and other community centers. Then, the soccer world will come together for a very worthy cause, at the Commissioner’s Dinner, a star-studded evening whose proceeds will be donated to a St. Louis-based children’s charity. During Super Soccer Saturday, youth soccer players will be able to test their skills in the MISL All-Star Youth Skills Competition, and then watch as the All-Stars demonstrate their prowess in the MISL All-Star Skills Competition. The day will conclude with the popular All-Star Autograph Alley, where fans of all ages can chat, take pictures and get autographs with all their favorite All-Stars. On All-Star Sunday, the celebration will showcase the great indoor soccer stars of yesterday and today. The day kicks off at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri, with the MISL Legends Game, featuring a team of MISL All-Star Legends competing against the St. Louis Steamers Legends. Immediately afterwards, the world’s best indoor soccer players take the field, as the Western Conference All-Stars play the Eastern Conference All-Stars in the 3rd MISL All-Star Game. "We're thrilled to bring the League's most prestigious special event to the fans of St. Louis," said Commissioner Steve Ryan. "It's a fantastic way to cap off the excitement of the Steamer's return and their inaugural year in the new MISL." This MISL All-Star Weekend in St. Louis has a historical significance, as the first MISL All-Star Game was played in St.Louis at the Checkerdome in 1980 in front of 16,892 fans. In that All-Star Game, the Central Division All-Stars defeated the Atlantic Division All-Stars 9-4. Detroit’s Pat Ercoli was selected as the game’s MVP. The 1984 MISL All-Star Game was also played in St. Louis as 16,312 fans saw the Eastern Conference defeat the Western Conference 8-6. Baltimore Blast All-Star Stan Stamenkovic was named the game’s MVP. On February 22, 1994 in a game televised nationally on ESPN from St. Louis, 8,202 fans attended the game at the Checkerdome and saw the National Division defeat the American Division 29-21. Detroit’s Andy Chapman was named the game’s MVP. The 2003 MISL All-Star Weekend was hosted by the Milwaukee Wave in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. One of the many highlights of the weekend was the “Commissioner’s Dinner for Keith’s Kids”, a charity fund-raiser saluting Milwaukee Wave Coach Keith Tozer whose involvement in the Milwaukee community is legendary. The dinner raised over $120,000 for four major charities in the Milwaukee area. Commenting on this 2004 MISL All-Star Weekend in St. Louis, Wave Coach Keith Tozer stated, “After the last two years of success with the All-Star Weekends both here in Milwaukee last year and in Cleveland in 2002 we know that St. Louis will be a great All-Star Weekend experience. St. Louis has a storied history in indoor soccer and I know this history will carry into successful seasons for years to come.” “After the great success we had last year in Milwaukee with the entire All-Star Weekend, we are very excited about St. Louis in it’s inaugural season being able to get this exciting event.” Milwaukee Wave President Tim Krause commented. “It will be great for such loyal and knowledgeable fans in St. Louis to be able to see all of the stars of the MISL.” The Major Indoor Soccer League is a single-entity organization featuring coast-to-coast presence with teams throughout the United States. The MISL is “the single major league of indoor soccer,” with a regular season that begins in October 2003 and concludes in April 2004. For more information on the MISL visit the League’s website at www.MISL.net. |
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