Major League Soccer officially kicked off its ties with Minnesota, awarding an expansion team for the state that will begin play in 2018. The new club, as expected, will be owned by a Minnesota ownership group led by Dr. Bill McGuire, and the team will play in a new soccer-specific stadium in downtown Minneapolis. With the addition of Minnesota in 2018, MLS will have 23 clubs under its banner, with a goal of reaching 24 clubs by 2020.
“We are proud to welcome Minnesota to Major League Soccer,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a league statement. “The ownership group’s commitment to soccer and the community, the area’s growing millennial population and the region’s rich tradition of supporting soccer at all levels in Minnesota were key indicators that this was the right market. The passionate soccer fans in Minnesota will soon have a world-class, downtown soccer stadium that will serve as the home for the new MLS team and become a destination for marquee international sports events.”