Today we are one step closer toward the debut of Major League Soccer in Minnesota, said MLS Commissioner Don Garber.
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In it, Kramer wrote that Coleman and United team officials planned to announce that the MLS had signed off on putting a new franchise in St. Paul and that a soccer stadium will be built in the city’s Midway neighborhood.
After being rebuffed in their efforts to build a soccer stadium in downtown Minneapolis near Target Field, Minnesota United FC has reached an agreement with the city of St. Paul to build a stadium in that city. The proposal calls for the stadium to be publicly owned after it is built, but the fact a private tenant would be its main occupant is why state action could be required on a property tax exemption.
Minnesota United was awarded an MLS franchise earlier this year in a highly competitive process that put Minnesota ahead of other major markets in the United States.
The team has been looking for property tax breaks to build.
The Snelling-Midway area is centrally located between the downtowns of the Twin Cities, and is near interstate 94 as well as public transportation.
The announcement will be at 1 p.m. Friday at MidPointe Center, which is adjacent to the new stadium site. The hope is that it will create jobs and spur housing and new commercial opportunities. Instead, he said, the project will tap into extensive transit options nearby, including the Green Line light rail transit route and the forthcoming bus rapid transit line.
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“In the beginning, I was a little bit doubtful, but today I’m filled with excitement”, St. Paul City Council Member Dai Thao, whose district covers the stadium site, said Friday. United is paying for the stadium’s construction costs. “St. Paul reels in another big win!” “The MLS stadium provides us the catalyst to move ahead and help create something that will further enhance this area in ways that will be a source of pride for everyone”.
