Minnesota United announced as 24th MLS franchise

Major League Soccer expansion announcements usually feature owners looking proud of themselves, speaking with wide eyes and gigantic grins on their faces. On Wednesday, Minnesota United FC owner Bill McGuire seemed too emotional to muster up any typical press conference enthusiasm.

Just after MLS commissioner Don Garber introduced him to the crowd and announced that Minnesota would be granted an expansion franchise, McGuire had to strain not to cry as he thanked his partners, players, the club’s fans and the local politicians who made the announcement a reality.

“[McGuire] started on this project to do something to give back to the community,” said Garber. “This started as a project that was about this town, about taking a team that had deep roots here and saving it.”

“Why Minnesota? It starts with Bill and his partners,” he continued. “You will love this group. They are totally committed, they love this game, they love this city and they’ve got a great plan for a building.”

Minnesota United is set to begin MLS play in 2018, likely at a soccer-specific stadium located in downtown Minneapolis. McGuire and his partners have already begun working on plans for a stadium, and are far enough along that MLS felt comfortable granting them an expansion team before those plans were set in stone. The deadline for a stadium plan has been set at July 1.

“There is a vision in place,” said McGuire. “We will begin unveiling that and sharing it with people so we can have all a smart dialogue about the right way to do this, the best way to do it on behalf of the community.”

While Minnesota United FC is the 24th franchise to be confirmed as an MLS team, they might be the 22nd to enter the league. A second Los Angeles team and David Beckham’s Miami expansion club are both much further away from securing stadium deals than McGuire’s group.

Before the press conference got underway, supporters group The Dark Clouds belted out a song: “The team that nobody wanted is going to MLS.” The club was founded by the National Sports Center as NSC Minnesota Stars after the old Minnesota Thunder folded, but they owned the team for only one season. They were purchased by the North American Soccer League in 2011 to meet a new standard set by U.S. Soccer for Division 2 clubs, which required owners to have a net worth of at least $20 million. NASL operated the team for two seasons until they were purchased by McGuire.

Presumably, it will not sit well with NASL that a team they propped up for two seasons is going to join up with a competitor -- and make no mistake about it, they view themselves as direct competition for MLS. Just before Wednesday’s announcement, NASL sent out a press release regarding Minnesota’s move to first-division soccer and their place in the American soccer landscape.

While Major League Soccer will make an announcement on Wednesday concerning Minnesota United FC possibly becoming an MLS expansion franchise, the NASL will continue on its path to build a league that is in line with the rest of the world and offers North American soccer fans a highly competitive alternative.
Our soccer landscape has been evolving at an unprecedented pace since the relaunch of the NASL in 2011. As the sport continues to grow, we anticipate making further announcements during the year concerning our own expansion and new partners. The developments in Minneapolis only serve to affirm once again, that the NASL is building high-caliber clubs, both on and off the field, and playing a leadership role in the evolution of professional soccer in North America. The announcement will not affect how we approach our plans for the future.

NASL, however, has struggled to cement plans for a West Coast team. Former NASL PR director Kartik Krishnaiyer said in early January that he expected an announcement regarding expansion to Los Angeles soon. The league confirmed that an LA team would not play in 2015 a few weeks later, but has yet to address the future of a West Coast expansion team.

By USSF rules, a league needs to have teams in the Eastern, Central and Pacific time zones by their sixth year of operations to retain Division 2 status. Next season, 2016, will be NASL’s sixth. They’re staring down a hard deadline for getting a West Coast expansion team set up, assuming USSF doesn’t change the rules for them, and Minnesota United’s departure could raise hard questions about the long-term health of the league from prospective new owners.

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