The long-awaited MLS to Minnesota announcement was made official on Wednesday, as commissioner Don Garber announced that the city had been awarded the league’s 23rd franchise.
As was reported before the announcement, Bill McGuire and the rest of the NASL’s Minnesota United FC ownership team were awarded the club instead of the bid backed by Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf.
TWC: MLS to Minnesota Won’t Be Regretted
Last week I showed you Homer Simpson’s reaction to the new team not playing in a football stadium. Ignoring the fact that he’s supporting the Atlanta club who will debut in 2017 in a football stadium for just two seconds, I dug up footage from a Skype call between Wilf and Dikembe Mutumbo for this week’s reaction GIF. Any guesses as to what Wilf would have said to have caused Mutumbo to react this was would be greatly appreciated in the comments section.
Eric Walcott gave his take on why MLS in Minnesota will work out a few days ago. I’ll give it my best shot here too, starting with the four pillars of MLS expansion.
1) Ownership
McGuire and company have salvaged this franchise from the near ruins it began with back in 2012. In the last season before the ownership change, the club averaged less than 3,000 fans a game. But in the 2014 Fall season, buoyed by their Spring season championship, United’s average attendance reached over 9,000 fans a game.
Also worth noting is the rebrand of the club, from the NSC Minnesota Stars in 2010 and 2011, to Minnesota Stars FC in 2012, and finally to the current Minnesota United FC in 2013. The first two were sad-sack soccer iterations of the long-gone Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League. The third though has drawn excellent reviews from fans and neutrals alike.
2) Stadium
Real estate can be an excellent business to go into. You find some land in an undeveloped area that nobody’s using, buy a piece of it, develop it along with other developers in adjacent patches, and sit back and watch as people come clamoring to pay you to use it. I could probably try to estimate how long it would take to become a millionaire by owning a downtown parking lot, but my guess would likely be way too high.
It’s an awful business for those who don’t own the land and who are forced to pay what the owner tells them. And that’s just renting. Trying to acquire desirable land (see D.C. and Miami) can be a death sentence.
But the United group has the land, meaning a very big box can be checked off. That still leaves an equally big box of acquiring public money to help finance a stadium, but having one hill to climb is better than two.
3) Market
Geography-wise, the Midwest is officially represented by three clubs right now: Chicago, Columbus, and Kansas City. Minnesota is far enough away from those three that it won’t be a fan-stealer, but it’s close enough that a sense of rivalry will be developed.
Population-wise, they’re one of the biggest metropolitan areas that has never had Major League Soccer in its backyard. The only metropolitan areas with more people than Minneapolis that don’t currently have a local MLS team are Miami (and they had one from 1998-2001), Atlanta (getting one in 2017), Detroit (well, uh, the name speaks for itself right now unfortunately) and Phoenix (which might be a smart move judging by a map, but might not make much sense until they generate a more prominent soccer-following population).
4) Fans
Again, that meteoric rise in attendance is impressive. Was it inflated by winning a championship the season before? Of course it was. But it was still the third-highest in the lower divisions. And I would be quick to argue that the new club allure of Sacramento and Indianapolis (the two clubs that were better attended than Minnesota) would pad attendance figures more than a championship.
But what’s not to say that announcing a berth into MLS won’t keep attendance high for a while? Though their name is outdated, the Dark Clouds are very much in the present and made their presence known during the expansion announcement. Having a strong supporters group in place is crucial for the club going forward.
Not all four pillars have been met in past expansions. Even some long-standing clubs might struggle meeting them. But Minnesota does, and that’s essential for making MLS better.
Here’s two final things to chew on
1- The Minnesota United FC logo is stellar. We all know that, and considering how many times it’s been changed this one really should be locked up as safely as possible and handled with great care. Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Montreal, and Orlando all had pretty not-D1-looking logos before coming to MLS. But Minnesota’s is worth keeping, which has begged the question: can they?
Admiral (United’s kit manufacturer) and the NASL likely aren’t happy about losing their brand to Adidas and MLS. They could play a New York Cosmos and hardball the price in a feeble attempt to make a statement. Or they could do what’s best for everyone and admit defeat and hand over the right paperwork so that this club can maintain the one identity that’s worked for them.
Even a touch-up would be fine. I know next to nothing about U.S. trademark laws, but what I do know is that the identity of this club could live and die by the DethLoon. It has to stay.
But hopefully, according to the observational skills of yours truly, we might be in luck.
@TotalMLS @LastWordSC here’s a side-by-side of the wordmarks. They look similar to me. No new logo maybe #MLSInMN pic.twitter.com/ou8Z23FuBT
— Michael Norton (@TheRealNort) March 25, 2015
Compare the “s”s in MLS shield and MN Utd text. I have a feeling #MLS won the trademark war @TotalMLS @LastWordSC pic.twitter.com/aYa7WcXWdf — Michael Norton (@TheRealNort) March 25, 2015
2- Miguel Ibarra is the starlet of the NASL, is the only lower-leaguer to be getting looks for the USMNT, and is 25 years of age. He’s also been a wanted man in MLS ever since going off on a tear for United.
Ibarra is under contract with Minnesota through the 2016 season. The interesting caveat that was slipped after the expansion announcement is that Minnesota United FC could come to MLS in 2017 instead of 2018, if LAFC can’t figure out a stadium in time.
If Ibarra were to leave for any MLS club today, he probably wouldn’t be able to get a DP contract. But what he would get is more eyeballs, better accommodation, more pay, and better European prospects. If he rides things out with Minnesota until they arrive in MLS, he’ll get a DP deal but will have virtually eliminated his European window and have been relegated to lower-level soccer for multiple years of his prime.
If I am Miguel Ibarra, I’m keeping a close eye on that MLS entry date. Waiting until 2018 might not be worth it. 2017 may not be either, but one year less is still a big deal.
Enough of a deal though? Who knows.
