While they wait for construction to be completed on their new stadiums, Major League Soccer’s two newest franchises will each pay more than $1 million to play their first several games at a college football stadium near their eventual permanent home, according to lease agreements for both clubs.
Minnesota United FC will pay the University of Minnesota more than $4 million through at least mid-2018 to play at the Gophers’ 8-year-old, 51,000-seat TCF Bank Stadium. The agreement calls for MUFC to pay at least $1.36 million in rent, based on a $40,000 per-game fee over 23 games in 2017, and another 11 in 2018. The team has an option to play there for the entire 2018 season if necessary, at the same rate.
 |
The Earthquakes played seven seasons at Santa Clara University’s Buck Shaw Stadium.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
|
Temporary homes
Other MLS clubs that played in a college venue before moving into a permanent home
San Jose Earthquakes
› No. of seasons: 17
› Venues: Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara University (2008-14); Spartan Stadium, San Jose State University (1996-2005)
Houston Dynamo
› No. of seasons: 6
› Venue: Robertson Stadium, University of Houston (2006-11)
Real Salt Lake
› No. of seasons: 4
› Venue: Rice-Eccles Stadium, University of Utah (2005-08)
Columbus Crew SC
› No. of seasons: 3
› Venue: Ohio Stadium, Ohio State University (1996-98)
Notes: FC Dallas played nine seasons at the Cotton Bowl, sharing it at times with SMU football and the Cotton Bowl Classic. Additionally, the LA Galaxy’s first seven seasons were spent at the city-owned Rose Bowl Stadium, where it was a co-tenant with UCLA football and the Rose Bowl game. Orlando City SC played its first two MLS seasons (2015-16) at the city-owned Camping World Stadium, sharing it with three college football bowl games.
Additionally, the school will receive $1 per ticket sold and 75 percent of Aramark’s food and beverage revenue, which the concessionaire projects to be an adjusted $3 per attendee.
More than half of the 20,000 seats per game that have been earmarked for the soccer club have already been sold to season-ticket holders.
On the expense side, MUFC will reimburse the school for all services provided and costs incurred, including security and ticket takers; provide a 25-person suite and 12 nonpremium seats; and pay to install new football turf after the last soccer game in next fall.
When it moves into its new soccer-specific home in St. Paul (which could happen late next season), the club will begin a 52-year lease with the city of St. Paul where it will make an annual payment of $556,620 for leasing the land. The team will retain all revenue and be responsible for all operation costs.
The club’s first game at TCF Bank Stadium will be Sunday against Atlanta United FC, the league’s other expansion team.
Like MUFC, Atlanta United will spend some time playing in a college venue, as the club is scheduled to play its first eight home games at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium. Until Mercedes-Benz Stadium opens for soccer in late July, the club will pay the Georgia Tech Athletic Association $360,000 in rent, $275,000 for locker-room accommodations and $350,000 to make the field ready for the Yellow Jackets’ football season once the final soccer game is played.
The GTAA also will receive $2 for every ticket sold (including season tickets) for each home game. The team has already sold more than 30,000 season tickets. Spectra is Georgia Tech’s exclusive ticket provider, while Ticketmaster is Atlanta United’s partner. Spectra has agreed to forgo any fee associated with fans purchasing Atlanta United tickets through Ticketmaster, as long as Spectra’s system and equipment is not used.
Sodexo, the stadium’s exclusive concessionaire, retains 35 percent of net revenue from its stadium sales. GTAA will receive 60 percent of the remaining revenue from the sales of game-day food and beverages, and Atlanta United will receive 40 percent. Levy Restaurants and Legends will handle catering at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Finally, GTAA will receive $5,000 for each home game in which Atlanta United sells merchandise.
MLS’s other expansion club, Los Angeles FC, is scheduled to begin play next spring, as it waits for construction of its new Banc of California Stadium.
Finally, among the 12 cities that submitted bids earlier this year for an expansion franchise, only FC Cincinnati proposed playing in a college building. Last year was the USL club’s inaugural season, and it set a league record for average attendance (17,296) and total attendance (259,437), while playing at University of Cincinnati’s 40,000-seat Nippert Stadium. The team’s owners contributed $2 million toward an offseason project to make the football venue more suitable to soccer.
