Minnesota United is "confident the club’s first home match" as a MLS franchise will "exceed 30,000 tickets sold," according to Megan Ryan of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. United has "sold out the lower bowl" at TCF Bank Stadium for the March 12 match against Atlanta United, and the club has "opened up tickets in the upper deck to meet demand." United is also "closing in on 11,000 season tickets sold, with a team-imposed limit of 11,842 (tied to state’s lake total)." The club this week planned to "unveil 10 digital billboards -- eight in Minneapolis, two in St. Paul" -- to "ramp up ticket sales." The billboards are featuring players "alongside fans, simply stating their names or their positions/jobs" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/27).
ENTERING A VERY CROWDED FIELD: In Minneapolis, Chip Scoggins wonders how Minnesota United will find their footing "in a crowded sports market with five other existing pro franchises and a major Division I athletic program.” Those operations are “all vying for fan interest, corporate dollars and media coverage.” Novelty will “provide a boost the first season,” and curiosity over a new team or new stadium “always sells well.” United games when the team played in NASL were “raucous but family friendly, a hip scene" much like what independent baseball team St. Paul Saints “have perfected.” But United has an opportunity to “expand their fan base beyond die-hards and millennials.” Marketing and branding “will be critical in building a fan base,” as United players “aren’t household names.” United needs to “help fans get to know ‘em.” Scoggins notes long-term viability “hinges on many factors: on-field success, price of tickets, entertainment value, fan engagement inside the stadium [and] marketing” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/3). Also in Minneapolis, Peter Callaghan wrote a question "looms ... that has as much to do with economics as it does with sports: Can the region’s fans absorb all those tickets and that many broadcasts?" Callaghan: "Is the region’s business community potent enough to buy the ads, rent the suites and agree to the sponsorship deals that are needed to make pro franchises viable?" The Twin Cities make up the "16th largest metropolitan area in the country," and Minnesota also has "more than its expected share of Fortune 500 companies," with 17 in total. However, other analyses of population and economic data "suggest the Twin Cities is one of the most oversaturated markets in the U.S." (MINNPOST.com, 3/2).
HOMETOWN DISCOUNT: In Minneapolis, Jeffrey Meitrodt reports Minnesota United will pay the Univ. of Minnesota at least $1M to "play its inaugural season at TCF Bank Stadium while the Loons’ new stadium is being built in St. Paul." The franchise must pay UM $40,000 per game in rent, "plus cover nearly $200,000 in estimated gameday expenses." The school also is "entitled to collect $1 per ticket, which is expected to generate another $20,000 per game in fees." United is paying less for the facility than the Vikings did during the two years they played at TCF Bank Stadium because the MLS team "will draw far smaller crowds than the Vikings and generate less revenue per game." The deal also allows United to play at the stadium in '18 if the St. Paul venue is "not ready." UM put "strict limits" on when United "can use the stadium, which may have led to some scheduling quirks." The contract states that United is "not allowed to use the stadium on weekdays during the spring and fall semesters, nor on the same weekends as home football games" for the university. As a result, the team will "play just one home game each in the months of March, August and October" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/3).
DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET THE JOB DONE: SI.com’s Alexander Abnos noted the "differences in ambition" between Minnesota United and fellow expansion club Atlanta United "appear to be quite staggering” entering the season. Atlanta United “seemed to design every public mention as a chance to make a big impact,” while Minnesota United has “opted for what could charitably be described as a slower, more methodical approach, and less charitably be called an inferior lead-up to an inaugural seasons in MLS.” Minnesota for the time being "simply hasn’t looked like it’s totally up to speed.” During the expansion draft, live feeds of the teams’ respective “war rooms” gave observers a “glimpse into the clubs’ vastly different circumstances.” Atlanta United’s front office “sat at a massive wooden table" in team Owner Arthur Blank’s offices, the club’s logo "projected behind them, looking like the boardroom of a Fortune 500 company.” Meanwhile, Minnesota United was in a “small conference room, gathered around a group of white tables pushed together.” Abnos: “Cruel, reductive and judgmental as that may be, it was hard to ignore the stark difference” (SI.com, 3/2).
