Future MLS expansion club Minnesota United have hired architectural firm Populous as the lead architect for their new stadium, to be built at the Snelling-Midway site in St. Paul, Minnesota, the club announced on Tuesday.
In Major League Soccer, Populous built Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston and the new Yankee Stadium in New York and is currently working on Orlando City's new stadium. In Minnesota, the firm built Target Field for baseball's Minnesota Twins and TCF Bank Stadium for the University of Minnesota's football team.
"We are very pleased to formalize our longstanding relationship with Populous, a global leader in stadium design,” said United president Nick Rogers, in a club statement. "We have been having conversations with Bruce Miller and his team over the past two years, and we have every confidence they are the right group to help us realize our vision of producing a world-class soccer stadium in St. Paul."
From its US projects to the new Wembley Stadium and Arsenal's Emirates Stadium in London to Soccer City in Johannesburg, Populous has worked on big projects all over the world.
“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to design another memorable sports experience for the Twin Cities,” said Bruce Miller, senior principal at Populous and lead architect for Minnesota United’s new stadium, in the club statement. “Major League Soccer has found a great home in St. Paul, and our design team is excited about the opportunities to create a mixed-use entertainment destination that will thrive year-round. The site’s central location, access to public transit and exposure on I-94 make it a model site for a Major League Soccer venue. As a building block in growing the Minnesota United brand, the stadium will become the heart and soul of soccer in the northern Midwest.”
The stadium, set to seat about 20,000 fans and include a natural grass sufrace, is scheduled to be completed in 2018. The team announced the location in October.
