urbanMSP

Yes, and it's the exclusive right to bring a team to the Viking's stadium, not the exclusive rights to bring a team to Minneapolis

That's a lot better than I had understood. My impression was that the Wilfs were given a five-year window of exclusivity on the market, but this makes more sense.

http://soccer.si.com/2013/12/03/don-gar ... he-league/

It's fascinating to me that Minneapolis keeps getting discussed nationally, with MLS even officially saying our name as an option, yet there is basically no local chatter here.

I've long been skeptical of Minneapolis getting a team because some of the key factors here, namely the idea of playing in the Vikings stadium, seem to go against the recipe that made expansion so successful in other cities.

But if the league is seriously going to put a team in an NFL stadium in Atlanta then it appears the key factor going forward is really just going to be having ultra rich owners to stabilize the league. Between the Wilfs and the McGuires, we have two viable owners. I just feel like there would have to be some buzz in local media if one of them was seriously trying something, but who knows?

At this point there isn't to much for the local news to report. Just about everybody who followed the stadium from the start has heard that MLS was a rather large sticking point the Wilfs made. So far the shovels have just hit the dirt and in the next year or two much more info regarding a pro soccer team coming to MPLS will become public. Ill bet a pretty penny the first major event in the new Vikings stadium will be a soccer event. It will be MPLS own soccer team or an international friendly.

A downtown soccer stadium?

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... adium.html

Wow that is amazing. If MLS comes here, this is how it would succeed, not as the off-season tenant in the Vikings stadium. Sporting Park, besides being in the most suburban location possible, is a great model.

Today Zygi reminds us that he's still in hot pursuit of MLS.

The new Vikings stadium has been designed to accommodate Major League Soccer (MLS) and includes a soccer pitch that will be 121 x72 yards, typical for MLS facilities. Securing an MLS franchise for Minneapolis-St. Paul was an important issue for the Vikings, which is why the team ensured that this opportunity was included in the stadium legislation. Major League Soccer has plans to expand to 24 teams by 2020, and conversations regarding securing a soccer team for this market have heated up between the Vikings and MLS representatives.

http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/N ... 18cbe75c76

A few weeks ago, I said that it was weird that we are often mentioned as a possible expansion city but there are not many rumblings about actual progress. Well, there are rumblings now.

http://soccer.si.com/2013/12/30/mls-exp ... #more-3151

Count me firmly on the MN United side.

^^^
That's exciting news! Does anyone know what the average ticket price is for MLS -vs- NASL?

I'm also firmly in the United camp. That would be great, I hope they can swing it.

1. It doesn't make sense for the Wilfs to start a franchise, spurning the MN United growth of late
2. It doesn't make sense to build a purpose-built stadium when we have a new palace going in Downtown East (even though there's a capacity mismatch)

Is there any chance the Vikings would welcome a MLS United to the People's Palace even though they have first right of refusal for a soccer tenant?

I think the idea of having a soccer specific stadium is great and I like the potential of the Farmer's Market site, but this would certainly make us the most over-stadiumed metro per capita in the nation. Five major league professional sports teams, each with their own stadium. The U of M, with sports-specific venues for every major sport. And for good measure, we're building a publicly funded minor league baseball stadium as well.

If egos could get sorted out, there's no reason why the McGuire's couldn't partner with the Wilf's to bring MLS to the People's Stadium.

It actually makes a lot of sense for the Wilfs to want their own team, since it would give the new stadium about 20 guaranteed gates every summer for little hassle. That's why a lot of people (me) are skeptical about this. As other cities have shown, MLS owners have to be really engaged to be successful. I'm also really skeptical about playing indoors in an NFL stadium, but that doesn't appear to be a major roadblock based on the rumors.

I'm not as skeptical as others about the Farmer's Market stadium. For one, MLS stadiums can be comparatively very cheap compared to the new Vikings stadium. Houston just built a downtown soccer stadium for $95 million. The stadium being built in San Jose is expected to be cheaper. Plus, a 20,000-seat stadium is much more useful than a 40,000 or 60,000 seater. Maybe one of our small school football teams could play there, for example.

Still, I can't help but think that a potential Minneapolis MLS team would eventually be some sort of joint venture between the McGuires and the Wilfs and playing in the new Vikings stadium. The only way Minnesota United could make the jump independent of the Wilfs is if Bill McGuire puts up a lot of his own money to build his own stadium.

Also, one thing I've wondered is why the new St. Paul Saints stadium wasn't built with soccer in mind. Seems like it would have been a perfect compromise for Minnesota United.

I'm not sure about the field dimensions, but based on crowd sizes it seems like it would have made sense to make the Saints stadium MLS compatible.

Or.... Since it was originally MPRB parkland, what about building a stadium around the De La Salle football pitch? I'm sure they'd love the idea.
http://goo.gl/maps/WLp8v

De La Salle has an amazing location, but it doesn't look like there is enough room surrounding the field for a significant increase in bleachers.

If we have learned anything from the Wilfs tenure as Vikings owners, it is that we cannot allow them to own another franchise in the city. They are one of the worst owners in the NFL. They try to run the team their way, even though they are absent from the state 95% of the year. Not to mention they are shady businessmen.

I understand the frustration about the stadium, but I think your comments about the Wilfs as owners are pretty unfounded. They've hardly been stingy when it comes to spending on the roster, for example. Here's what Chris Kluwe said today:

Asked if he felt he could approach Wilf about Priefer's comments, Kluwe said, "Zygi's not really hands-on with the team. He's very invested in the team -- he's probably the best owner I've ever seen -- but he's not like a Jerry Jones where he's around all the time. I would kind of see him around occasionally. He's very passionate and exuberant, but it's not like I can walk up to Zygi's office."

The Wilf's have been awful owner's. Look where we are now. And do you see any light at the end of the tunnel? They got sued for the tune of $80+ million in New Jersey for being extremely shady. They will have been beyond greedy during the entire Vikings stadium agreement and will ending up paying next to nothing for the stadium. They are never around as owners. Not the kind of people I want running any franchise in Minny.

If we have learned anything from the Wilfs tenure as Vikings owners, it is that we cannot allow them to own another franchise in the city. They are one of the worst owners in the NFL. They try to run the team their way, even though they are absent from the state 95% of the year. Not to mention they are shady businessmen.

They run their team their way? Doesn't every owner do that? Would you rather have cheap ass Red Mccombs back? He was so stingy with spending money, never signed any big free agents and even traded Moss to save money then sold the team to the Wilf's when the franchise was in shambles. The Wilf's have been regarded as good owners that have invested a ton of money into the franchise. They gave big conctracts to Jared Allen, AP, Greg Jennings, Steve Hutchinson, Ben Leber, Bryant Mckinnie, Kevin Williams, Madeiu Williams, Bernard Berrian, Brian Robison, Chad Greenway, Brett Favre...

Vikings are always near the top in payroll under the Wilf's. Looks like 4th this year.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/intera ... er-broncos

There is a big difference between opening up the checkbook and being a good owner. Is Daniel Snyder a good owner? I would argue that he is not. There is a lot more to owning a team then just opening the checkbook.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/ne ... e-frazier/

Don't you think a lot of this is subjective though. I look at Jerry Jones and think he's a great owner from the standpoint that he seems to really care about the team and even the players themselves, but conversly he treats it like a fantasy football team and gets too involved in the day to day stuff that should be left to the football guys. He makes too many rash decisions rather than letting things play themselves out.
I think the Wilf's want to be good football guys, but they think of things in a boardroom sense and they have managers (or in this case a GM) that they have put a lot of faith in that isn't very good at his job. I think Speilman's confidence and arrogance and a couple of lucky draft choices have given them the feeling that he is a good football mind, when in reality he's an unwavering fool. Just look at the quarterback issues this year and you can see exactly what I'm talking about. The Wilf's want to do anything they can to win, they just have a bad captain driving the ship.
Bringing this back to soccer - with they way the Wilf's run the Vikings I guess I'd be inclined to have the McGuire's run the soccer club.