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Minneapolis Closer To Major League Soccer?

From the moment the new Minnesota Vikings' stadium was approved back in 2012, there have been rumors swirling that the Wilf family was interested in bringing Major League Soccer to the Twin Cities. MLS is looking to expand in the near future, and it appears that the Twin Cities are on a list that continues to get shorter.

Earlier this week, the Commissioner of Major League Soccer sent a letter to a group from Las Vegas saying that they were no longer being considered for MLS expansion, which means that their list is now officially down to two cities. . .Sacramento and Minneapolis.

MLS has pledged to get their league to 24 teams by 2020, and they currently sit at 20. There will be a team in Atlanta debuting in 2017, and the league is going to attempt to revive their Los Angeles franchise as well. But, as MPR News points out, it isn't quite as simple as just giving teams to both Minneapolis and Sacramento, because a certain soccer superstar appears to be bending things a bit.

Soccer superstar David Beckham exercised his option to purchase an expansion franchise in Miami last year, possibly leaving just a single spot open in the league's 2020 ranks.

Beckham's bid has been beset by stadium problems; however, and it isn't clear when his team might be ready to take the field. He, his investors and Miami officials haven't been able to agree on where to put a new soccer stadium. That could make the team part of the 2020 expansion or part of yet another, later expansion.

Beckham? Bending? What I did there. . .YOU SAW IT, RIGHT?

MPR also points out that MLS Commissioner Don Garber has mentioned making another midwestern team a priority.

Now, it's entirely possible that a new MLS team in Minneapolis might not be owned by the Wilf family. . .there's a group headed by the owners of the Minnesota United Football Club that are interested in the opportunity as well. But the Wilfs might have the advantage with the new stadium coming online, even if it isn't the sort of soccer-specific stadium that MLS tends to favor.

Would you be interested in a MLS franchise in the Twin Cities? Do you think it would increase your interest in futbol as opposed to just football?