Remember the time before Minnesota United’s 2017 season began? Cautious optimism surrounded the team in most regards—except for one. Everyone seemed to doubt whether TCF Bank Stadium, the 50,805 capacity football stadium for the University of Minnesota, could be an enjoyable place to watch soccer.
The numerous issues covered a variety of viewing aspects: no tailgating, an unfortunate lack of parking, bad sightlines, poor concessions logistics, an empty second tier of seats, and those god-awful letters on the pitch.
It was a small miracle that anybody showed up for the opening match in the supposedly unbearable ground, but fans did—in a blizzard as well.