MINNEAPOLIS, Minn – (March 26, 2015) – It was perhaps the worst kept secret in town, but it became official this week. Major League Soccer awarded an expansion franchise to Minnesota.
“We’ve been asked a lot over the last couple months why Minnesota. It starts with Bill and his partners the Pohlad family, Glen Taylor, and Wendy Carlson Nelson. They are totally committed. They love this game, they love this city, and they have a great plan for a building. They represent exactly what we want and what we need to continue this momentum that we have that is really stimulating the growth of our league and what Minnesota needs to build to continue to nurture the sport that has such a great history in this region,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber.
McGuire and his partners have plans to build an 18,500 seat stadium in downtown Minneapolis adjacent to the Minneapolis Farmers Market. McGuire was not ready to reveal exactly how it will be funded or what the stadium would look like. He instead said that the vision and plan will be outlined in the coming months.
As the team waits to unveil plans for its potential future home, McGuire made it clear that United will also have a long term relationship with its current home the National Sports Center in Blaine. “We see Blaine and the National Sports Center as a strong part of our future,” said McGuire.
Also on hand for the announcement this week was the greatest U.S. player in soccer history, Landon Donovan. After spending less than a day in Minnesota he too was sold on the market. “Today you get a sense that everybody is invested in this venture. It’s not just the ownership, it’s not just the fans, it’s not just the community, it’s not just the businesses. It’s everybody, everybody’s in it. I think that breeds success, I think everybody here wants it to be successful. It’s going to be successful and that’s why I think the commissioner made an excellent choice,” said Donovan.
Soccer is now the second favorite sport in the U.S. among 18 to 24 year-olds and MLS league attendance averaged more than 19,000 fans per game in 2014, the highest in the league’s 20 year history. McGuire said that, combined with the next generation being invested in the game, to the tune of 75,000 youth in Minnesota playing soccer, make this a great day for Minnesota.
“This is a big deal for our community. Lots of important, vibrant cities in America wanted this franchise. It’s arguably the last of their expansion before they decide to go on to do something else. It is a great victory for our community to be viewed as the place to go and for us to bring this here because I promise you some people in other great communities that you read about really wanted to be here this day,” said McGuire.
