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Staff Writer

“We’re off on another adventure,” National Sports Center (NSC) Director Paul Erickson said during his opening remarks at the first soccer stakeholders summit Jan. 21.

Professional soccer fans in Minnesota gathered for a give-and-take session to learn more about the NSC’s latest venture – professional sports franchise ownership.

The purpose of the summit was to bring together long-standing Minnesota Thunder fans and other professional soccer supporters.

Summit attendees provided input into many aspects of the new franchise, offering naming suggestions, ideas for game-day experience and proposed ticket price structures.

Fans were invited to fill out a 14-question sheet that asked for input regarding a mascot, team colors, game-day activities and changes to NSC Stadium.

An online contest to determine a franchise name ended Jan. 26. NSC staff will review the names and make the final decision on a new moniker.

Soccer leaders speak

Many well-known people from the soccer community in Minnesota were on hand at the meeting at the Schwan Center in Blaine.

Paul Beggin, longtime National Sports Center Foundation (NSCF) Board of Directors member and 2009 National High School Coach of the Year, provided opening background.

Beggin gave a basic rundown of the history of soccer in Minnesota. He mentioned the state’s first organized clubs began playing in the 1950s,

Manny Lagos, who has been named the new team’s director of professional soccer operations, is synonymous with developing soccer in Minnesota at numerous levels.

Lagos offered coaching and player perspectives that would affect the team. Getting a brand new franchise off the ground and field-ready so early will be a challenge, he said.

“But I see that in a good way,” Lagos said. “The team is going to embrace it. I hope the fans do as well.”

Lagos noted how the continuing improvements American soccer has made on the global level.

“We have more U.S. soccer players playing pro over here and overseas,” he said. “Let’s embrace that and build a system of consistency that leads to winning championships.”

Lagos said a coach is scheduled to be selected in the next week and players will be signed during the next three weeks.

Infrastructure advantage

According to team officials, the NSC is in a unique situation when it comes to organizing and operating a professional franchise.

For starters, the NSC already has many of its infrastructure pieces in place.

Stadium operations are one example; the NSC doesn’t have to make a lease payment or hire separate vendors to do tasks staff is already doing for more than 100 events annually.

Team supporters questioned what type of players, in terms of salaries, the new team would go after, since salaries widely varied last season.

“Montreal spent more than $1 million last season and the Thunder was closer to $300,000,” said Kris Bjerkness, club general manager and the NSC’s chief administrator.

“We’re going to be somewhere in the middle. We’re going to be closer to the Twins in consistently making the playoffs, which is our goal.”

Seeking new partners

Erickson gave his perspective on how preserving professional soccer in Minnesota is the ultimate goal of the new franchise.

In doing so, he shed light on two areas that will give the new franchise immediate credentials among supporters – partnerships with European and Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs.

“We want to produce the best division two soccer team in America,” he said.

One way to do that is to build relationships with the larger teams in the world.

“We’re going to make two major announcements over the next 30 to 40 days,’” Erickson told the audience.

The NSC has verbally agreed with a European club to loan up to three players during the full summer season, Erickson said.

In addition, the NSC is negotiating with a “top level” Major League Soccer team that wants to its prospects to grow in Division II soccer ahead of making the leap to MLS, he said.

In previous years, MLS has operated a reserve team made up of prospects not ready to make the professional roster.

The reserve league no longer exists, Erickson said, opening up the chance for those players to move onto Division II teams.

Organizational model

Bjerkness shared some thoughts on how the new NSC organization was modeled after another highly-successful non-profit organization in Montreal.

The Division II Montreal Impact is one of the premier teams in the second tier of professional soccer in North America.

Bjerkness said the team regularly sells out games in its 13,000-seat stadium.

“We want to emulate that and find that same energy to be as successful as the Montreal Impact and position ourselves for an exciting future,” he said.

According to Roger Stasky, the NSC’s chief financial officer, the recipe for team’s success will come from having a world-class soccer venue on a first-class soccer campus.

“We have a experienced and capable staff,” Stasky said. “Twenty-plus years of experience and proven operational and financial synergies which will be needed to be successful.”

Community involvement and support is critical, he said. “This is your team,” Stasky said.

Money to run the new NSC team will come from ticket sales, camps and clinics and sponsorships.

Erickson said the NSC maintains $1.3 million annually in sponsorships.

“That’s how we can afford to keep [ticket] prices affordable for families,” Erickson said. “We have a sponsorship goal of $200,000 for the team.”

Sponsorships needed

According to John Connelly, the NSC’s director of sponsorships, sponsorship will be critical and soccer growth needs to come from the youth level up.

“It’s a key for the reason of finding those who care deeply about youth soccer and using that to funnel support into the professional ranks,” Connelly said.

“Then, you have a grassroots program that benefits not only the pro team but the youth level.”

One of the questions NSC officials have addressed deals with who actually owns the team and how that process works.

The NSC, which is owned by the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission (MASC), a state agency, is operated by the National Sports Center Foundation (NSCF), a wholly owned non-profit organization.

Erickson said the new soccer team would be considered an NSC program, similar to hockey, soccer and cycling programs that are currently offered.

“The taxpayers don’t own the USA CUP or NSC Cup,” Erickson said. “Those are properties of the non-profit and there are appropriate financial and legal separation between the NSCF and the MASC.”

According to Erickson, another change fans will notice is how active the players will be in other NSC on-site activities.

“Since they’ll become employees of the NSC, they’re going to make more appearances in the community and at clinics and camps,” Erickson said.

Community interaction

Barclay Kruse, NSC chief communications officer, said last week a strong effort will be made to get the team into the community.

“The old Minnesota Kicks got players out to schools, malls, just everywhere” Kruse said. “That generated a lot of excitement for the team, but the players really market themselves on the field.”

The new team organization is working with North Metro Cable 15 to broadcast games this season.

The Blaine-based community access station ceased broadcasting Minnesota Thunder games midway through last season after advertising dried up.

Being able to utilize the NSC’s communication department for media relations is something the former NSC tenants didn’t have at their complete disposal, Kruse said.

“It would be awesome to do a daily show, similar to what we already do for the USA CUP,” he said.

Fans suggested seeing more post-game comments and highlight packages in addition to game previews on the team’s site.

Kruse said fan ideas and suggestions will be vital to the new franchise’s success.

“There is going to be a place for everyone who cares about soccer in Minnesota and that is our pledge to you,” Kruse said.

Jason Olson is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it