ST. PAUL — A David and Goliath story generally requires a David to root for, but neither side competing for the M.L.S. expansion franchise in Minnesota resembled a boy with a slingshot.
Instead, this one featured two Goliaths: The rich, powerful Wilf family, owner of the Minnesota Vikings and their new $1 billion fixed-roof stadium, versus a formidable soccer-centric group that included some of the richest people in the state but lacked a stadium.
William W. McGuire, the former chief executive of UnitedHealth Group and the owner of the Minnesota United of the North American Soccer League, heads the second group, and last year he outmaneuvered the Wilfs and landed the expansion franchise by promising to build an open-air soccer-specific stadium with private money — a rarity in American professional sports.