Minnesota United FC's new soccer-specific home in St. Paul will have a sophisticated, rounded-bowl style, according to club owner Dr. Bill McGuire.
Speaking at the Greater St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association luncheon on Monday, McGuire outlined his vision for the stadium, and it’s clear he’s aiming for a certain artistic aesthetic inspired by stadiums from Johannesburg, South Africa to Munich, Germany and Lyon, France.
“We want this to be beautiful and inspiring,” he said, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “We expect this to be a preeminent facility, certainly artistically.”
Minnesota United are planning on building their new stadium in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood, which is roughly equidistant between downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis and situated on multiple public transit lines. McGuire said on Monday that he hopes to break ground at the site by June in time for completion by February 2018.
The club has hired architecture firm Populous to design the stadium. Populous has designed several MLS stadiums, including Sporting Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Park and the Houston Dynamo’s BBVA Compass Stadium, as well as the London Olympic Stadium, Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in London.
McGuire and Minnesota United plan on privately funding the estimated $120 million stadium, which will have a capacity between 18,000 and 20,000. The St. Paul City Council and Ramsey County have passed resolutions supporting a continuation of tax exempt status for the site, a measure that still needs to be approved by the state legislature.
McGuire did indicate on Monday that stadium costs could exceed the $120 million target, saying at the luncheon that that sum “will not build what we want.”
Additionally, Minnesota United and the City of St. Paul are committed to redeveloping the area around the site as a prerequisite for moving forward with stadium construction. According to the Pioneer Press, McGuire said on Monday that he’s heard from restaurant, hospitality, fitness, corporate office and other potential tenants interested in moving into a redeveloped shopping center bordering the stadium site.
The club, which was awarded an MLS franchise last March and currently competes in NASL, is reportedly aiming to move into MLS in 2017. Should the team move into the league in 2017, they could play that year at a temporary home, with the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting last month that the club is looking at Target Field and TCF Bank Stadium as potential solutions.
