In exciting news for Minnesota soccer fans, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber said the new home of Minnesota United Allianz Field will “undoubtedly” host fixtures outside of just regular season home games.
Garber said the new stadium, which is expected to open next season, will be strongly considered when it comes to hosting a myriad of big-time soccer matches, including: the MLS All-Star Game, CONCACAF Gold Cup matches and U.S. men’s and women’s internationals, which could be friendlies or competitive.
On Thursday, Garber spent time with Minnesota United players and staff, checking in on the under-construction stadium and to see the day-to-day operations of one of his league’s newest franchises.
Garber said he’s extremely excited with the projections for the new facility and is happy that United ownership has followed through on its promise to provide its franchise with state-of-the-art facilities.
Garber said he feels as though MLS is closing the gap with its closest rival — both geographically and competitively — in Mexico’s Liga MX. Target Allocation Money and the Designated Player system are the two main factors for that, Garber said. Those systems have allowed for the Loon’s to acquire regular starters Kevin Molino, Ethan Finlay and Darwin Quintero.
The league office is considering all avenues to improve the talent pool of the league, Garber said. The current MLS collective bargaining agreement expires in 2019, so changes could be coming.
