MLS in the Twin Cities?
IMS friend Jon Marthaler is a sports junkie. He writes for about 16 different web sites. Yes, that’s an exaggeration but he does write for 3 or 4 including Twinkie Town, his own blog which you can find here (I won’t even try to explain the name) and he also fills in for the Star Tribune’s Mike Rand on Randball on weekends. Recently Jon has been writing for and acting as assistant editor to SB Nation Minnesota.
The point being, Jon posted a pretty interesting article today at SB Nation that I’d that I’d like to bring to your attention. It’s called “Could Major League Soccer Succeed In Minnesota?” A well-written piece concerning the very topic that many of us have asked ourselves and possibly discussed with friends. Jon interviews me, Bruce McGuire of duNord futbol and Mike Rand of the Star Tribune.
An excerpt from the article: Mlive.com did a story about the possible expansion of the league to Detroit; the Greek-born new owner of the Silverdome has an intriguing but slightly goofy plan to add two arenas in the lower deck of the stadium, then build a soccer field atop the arenas and transform the upper deck into a roof-less soccer stadium. In the article, the site lays out MLS’s four criteria for an expansion team:
•Committed long-term ownership with deep pockets.
•Approved plan to build a soccer-specific stadium where the team would control revenue streams such as parking and concessions.
•A healthy media market
•A strong soccer fanbase
Marthaler then goes about investigating each point. I think there are a couple of things that come across strongly here. A good urban location and good media coverage. This point was also brought up by McGuire and the interview with Rand of the Strib. is also pretty interesting.
This is a great read and I hope you take the time to give the ideas some thought. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying I would love to see a day when MLS comes to the Twin Cites. Wouldn’t that be something!
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I am Marthalers #1 fan.