Major League Soccer coming to St. Paul

Major League Soccer is coming to St. Paul.

Minnesota United announced Friday they, along with the city, will build a new soccer stadium in the Midway area, between Snelling and University.

The team is however asking for a permanent property tax exemption for the site.

The $120 million stadium will be privately financed by the team, and then will be publicly owned. “Located between two great downtowns, situated along multiple transit options and the interstate, and in the heart of a dynamic community, this site provides us the opportunity to work in partnership with the city of Saint Paul and the local community to establish top-tier professional soccer that will be readily accessible to everyone”. The Saint Paul City Council and Ramsey County have also passed resolutions supporting a continuation of tax exempt status for the site, a measure that will need to be approved by the state legislature.

The plan, first reported by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, has the backing of the mayor’s office and the metropolitan council.

McGuire scouted the “bus barn” site as potential stadium location beginning three years ago, and Friday’s announcement marked his full-circle return to that plan.

Coleman said the stadium will be a catalyst for other redevelopment in the area. “St. Paul reels in another big win!”

The MLS expansion side announced Friday that it will build a stadium in St. Paul.

Along with McGuire, the former chief executive of UnitedHealth Group, the team’s ownership includes billionaire businessman Glen Taylor and members of the Pohlad family, which owns the Minnesota Twins. “In the Senate there is pretty strong opposition to more subsidies for stadiums”, he said.

Negotiations between Coleman and McGuire’s group happened behind closed doors, firing up calls for more transparency and resident engagement as the project progresses.

“A very, very important part of this process are community voices helping us get this right”, Coleman said.