Peoria City (soccer)

Peoria City is an American soccer club from Peoria, Illinois, that plays in the Heartland Division in USL League Two. The team's colors are gold and black.

History
The club was founded by former K–W United owner Barry MacLean along with John Dorn with former Major League Soccer player Tim Regan serving as the inaugural head coach. The club was announced as a new expansion club, set to begin play in the 2020 season, however, their entrance was delayed to 2021, as the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their entrance was further delayed, with the team announcing in January 2022 that they would begin play in the 2022 season.

Peoria City played their first match on May 14, 2022, where a crowd of 1,114 were in attendance to watch a 2–2 draw against Minneapolis City SC. On July 15, Peoria City qualified for the USL League 2 playoffs with the second seed in the division after it won the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Thunder Bay Chill. The team lost 3–1 in the first round of the playoffs to Chicago FC United at Atwood Stadium in Flint, Michigan.

Club culture
The team's first supporters group is "The 309", named for the local 309 area code, which organizes fans at matches and pre-game events.