Major League Soccer on Wednesday officially announced Minnesota United as its 23rd franchise. The expansion team will begin play in 2018.
Scarves up with the Dark Clouds! #MNU2MLS @Chris_Ramirez17 @BrianKallman14 pic.twitter.com/h6I2ihCk6T
- Minnesota United FC (@MNUnitedFC) March 25, 2015
MLS Commissioner Don Garber joined Minnesota United owner Bill McGuire at Target Field, the home of baseball's Minnesota Twins, as the league made the news of the club's transition from the second-tier North American Soccer League official.
"We are proud to welcome Minnesota to Major League Soccer," 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."
Minnesota United played NASL home games in Blaine, a suburb north of Minneapolis.
MLS is planning to expand to 24 clubs by 2020.
Former health care executive McGuire has assembled a group of investors including the owners of MLB's Twins and the NBA's Timberwolves.
Target Field is just a few blocks away from the proposed site of a new stadium that would have a capacity of about 18,500 and cost between $100 million and $200 million.
McGuire didn't provide specifics about how the stadium would be financed.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.