Could Target Field be a temporary home for the Minnesota United?
It’s a possibility.
Sports Illustrated reports Major League Soccer wants to add both Atlanta and Minnesota in 2017, in an effort to keep an even number of teams in the league.
Minnesota United Owner Bill McGuire has announced the team’s intentions to build a new outdoor soccer stadium in St. Paul. The franchise picked Mortenson Construction to design and lead the construction of the $120 million facility, but it’s not expected to be ready for play until 2018.
That would mean the United would more than likely need a temporary home – for one season.
The Business Journal notes Target Field makes sense, because Twins owners Jim and Bob Pohlad are invested in the United, and the ballpark also has a grass surface, which is preferred by Major League Soccer.
That could present some big obstacles though. The MLS season overlaps with the Major League Baseball season and it would require some planning to reconfigure Target Field for soccer.
TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota’s campus could be another option, and it’s been used for soccer before. But the playing surface is not natural grass.
