We’re currently in the eye of a storm of Saint Louis FC announcements this month. We’re waiting on the USL-Pro schedule to be released, more signing announcements, and let’s not forget the kits.

This past week a huge announcement was finally made on STLFC’s affiliation with the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer. Some Saint Louis fans may not have heard yet of all of the benefits that come with that agreement. So I sent general manager Jeremy Alumbaugh a few questions about the arrangement, such as why they chose to do it in the first place, the kinds of players we might see, and all things affiliation, and he was kind enough to answer.

First of all, what exactly does this agreement mean for STLFC?

This agreement means that Saint Louis FC has a partnership with Chicago Fire. Plain and simple partnerships help both parties. It obviously has been in the works for many months, which has allowed us an opportunity to develop relationships with their franchise and specifically the Technical Staff. Having discussions about potential players, sharing resources with scouting has been a big help as covering a country this big is difficult for any club on their own.

We will receive players on loan from the Fire which will help our roster as we look to compete in the very competitive USL PRO here in 2015. It also is an avenue for our players to perhaps get opportunities in MLS.

How important was it to get a deal like this in place for the club’s inaugural season?

It helps. We feel the players we get will add to us because they will know St. Louis and how important soccer is to this city. Also, for some players that we have signed, they are looking for an opportunity to perhaps move onto another level. Being able to have a relationship with the Fire will help our technical staff as they can utilize another resource in the professional soccer world.

What about the Chicago Fire organization made this an attractive option?

It was simple. Our first meeting, it was said by the Fire, this is a simple partnership, the Fire need to know that players they send to St. Louis will be taken care of, play in a meaningful environment and get better on and off the field. They didn’t want control of our technical side. They were comfortable with [head coach] Dale Schilly and his staff and knew of his track record of dealing with players on loan (Chris Schuler, Luis Gil, Colin Warner) guys that when Dale coached AC St Louis were on loan because they couldn’t get minutes in MLS and now they are everyday players in MLS. Dale was a key fixture in our talks, his reputation spoke for itself.

Also, the Fire are rebuilding and young players are part of that, so we knew we would get players from them. Being close to Chicago makes it easier for staff and players to get back and forth as needed. Bottom line is it fit, they want the same things that we want.

How many players from Chicago do you anticipate will be involved in STLFC’s season?

Hard to say with the CBA coming up, but we anticipate 2-4.

How would you sell this agreement to a St. Louisan who is already a fan of a different MLS club?

No selling needed. It’s great that they have an MLS team. Still keep their MLS team. When their MLS team plays against Chicago, cheer them on, want them to beat the Fire, that’s ok. When the Fire aren’t playing your MLS team watch the Fire and maybe cheer them on if you feel ok doing it, if not that’s ok.

It’s important to know we are Saint Louis FC…we aren’t Chicago Fire 2. We are our own club that is an affiliate of the Fire, not controlled by them. We are PROUD to be their affiliate and will work hard to make their players better, just like all teams around the WORLD with loan players try to make them better. It is a partnership and that’s why this fits…some MLS teams were looking to control us and St. Louis is not a city that needs to be controlled by the outside when it comes to soccer. We’ve been here awhile, now we just need to prove off and on the field that we belong in professional soccer.

Let’s say a player is sent down from Toyota Park who plays a position you’ve gotten very good play out of recently. Who would get the priority of playing time?

Best guys play. It’s a long season so depth is important, but part of the reason the Fire worked out is because they want players to earn their minutes here in USL PRO, not given them because they are MLS loan players… That wasn’t necessarily what we heard from other MLS teams we spoke to. We flew to two cities to visit with them and had phone conversations with a third. In the end the Fire made sense with us and where we are trying to head with Saint Louis FC.

It certainly didn’t go unnoticed that Chicago used their first two picks in the SuperDraft on St. Louis-area collegiate players (Matt Polster from SIUE and Kingsley Bryce from SLU). Have there been any discussions so far about either of those players, or anyone else?

We’ve talked about a lot of players. It is exciting that they drafted those guys in the first two rounds, but we have not spoken about them since the Draft. I know Matt and Kingsley are focused on making the First team, just like everyone in camp will be. No player in the world of professional soccer wants to go on loan…you think the young kid from Chelsea wants to go to Hull City? Of course not, he want to play for the first team. With us we know that the players we pick up will know that if they come here, that we and our supporters will expect them to play hard for that Saint Louis FC jersey. When they are here we will treat them as they are our own and when they move on we will sit back and say…St. Louis helped them get to their next step and we will feel great pride in that accomplishment.

Both Dale and myself will be in Chicago portion of their pre season training and I’ll be in Portland for their last part of pre season camp. Th Fire want us there, because they feel it is important that we get players in St. Louis that we are comfortable with, that means a lot to our club.

Other than loanees, what other benefits are there to affiliating with an MLS team that you wouldn’t have if STLFC were an independent USL-Pro club?

As mentioned earlier, scouting is big. Having access to their insight and knowledge is helpful and a great resource. Also, for players aspiring to get to another level it is important to have that link to the next level. There is no doubt that some of our players will get called up and given an opportunity either in pre season, during the season or even next year so a big part of this is player development driven.

There are also some community initiatives that the Fire have put into place through their foundation that we feel will also work here in St. Louis and adding value to our community is a major focus for Saint Louis FC. I imagine that the supporters groups from Chicago and St. Louis will find a way to enjoy a beverage with each other and that only helps grow the game in the US.

As I understand it, this agreement is just for this season. Would there be any interest in renewing it for 2016 and beyond, and is there any option in place to do so?

Relationships are best when they are taken day by day. We expect that this is a long term partnership but both sides will be watching closely to see how it develops. We have had discussions about continuing this past this year and there will be an appropriate time for those discussions to continue, but both franchises are very focused on the upcoming season.

Anything else you’d like to say about the affiliation, the Chicago Fire, or how this changes things for Saint Louis FC?

I think for many of our supporters, fans and even those that are not sure yet about us…they all have known this was in the works. It isn’t a surprise for most. Like I said earlier, we are not Chicago Fire 2, we are Saint Louis FC. We are proud to be their affiliate and look forward to the season and all of the exciting moments it will bring to all of us.

The excitement that has been brewing since last May has been incredible. This announcement doesn’t change any of this, 2015 is a BIG year for St. Louis.