Personally think Kicks is a bad idea. Not the same crowd that an MLS team would be trying to attract (21-35 year old/no memory or nostalgia) and Kicks doesn’t have any real identification of the area like Sounders, Whitecaps and Timbers have. They all represent something in the area as does the Cosmos with New York City. Kicks??? Totally generic and has no tie-in to the area except nostalgia.

But I gotta ask: Would you seriously want the “Kicks” name or was that just schtick?

Qualifications:
1) Multi-Millionaire
2) Willing to loose a large sum of money
3) Passion for soccer
4) Contacts in the MN big business world ( 3M, Pilsbury, Gerneral Mills, Medtronics, etc.
5) Year round Minnesota resident
6) Owns or has access to land to build a soccer specific stadium on.
7) Has the rights to the Minnesota Kicks name etc.

It is the ideal way for them to continue to generate income for themselves during the summer months. 20 to 30 dates guarenteed.

They have mentioned it in every proposal the team has actively persued. They have met with league officials on the subject. They have never wavered or said anything in public otherwise on the subject.

As a matter of fact, when one of the legislators tried to strip the Wilfs 5 year exclusive rights to bring the MLS to the stadium, the objections from the organization were instant and vehement.

Other than a skepticism to big business in general (which I possess to a certain extent), there would be nothing to gain for the Wilfs to make the claim and then reneg on it. The extra political support he gained from it was and is neglible, at best. Believe me, there is nobody in the statehouse who is in the pocket of “Big Soccer”. And if the totality of lawmakers involved got as many as a hundred e-mails, letters and/or phone calls between them specifically mentioning the proposed soccer club as a motivation to support the project, I’d be shocked.

I don’t know if it is the case here, but sometimes it looks as if some people are afraid that soccer will become so successful as a sport in this country that it will be rendered useless as “contrarian cred”.

On the issue of bringing MLS to MN, I am not optimistic that Zigi will bring a team to town. However, if he does, I think the team should be called the Minnesota Buzz. This name would honor Buzz Lagos and his vision for soccer in Minnesota.

Unfortunately, MN does not receive the full benefit of the State income tax from the players, unless they are full time residents of MN and all of the games are played in MN. For the most part, State income taxes are deducted from where they work, in this case, the away game NFL cities and States. Then, since most players are paid over a 12 month period, the State they reside in takes the remainder of the State income tax, unless you are in Texas or Florida, non-income tax States.

It can get very complicated on this side, but teh bottem line is that the State income tax analysis is not as great for MN as one would think it would or should be.