United CEO Chris Wright, CSO Manny Lagos discuss Loons home opener, season ahead

For the first time since the 2019 season concluded with a first-round playoff defeat, Minnesota United is preparing to play a game in front of home fans at Allianz Field.

The Loons host Real Salt Lake in the 2021 home opener on Saturday ending fans’ 549-day absence from the St. Paul stadium.

The team was permitted to sell 4,100 socially-distanced tickets to Saturday’s game. That number is less than the 25% capacity local guidelines currently permit due to social-distancing measures.

Click the video box on this page to watch Minnesota United CEO Chris Wright and CFO Manny Lagos address a variety of topics ahead of the Loons’ 2021 home opener

At a press conference Tuesday at Allianz Field, Minnesota United CEO Chris Wright and Chief Soccer Officer Manny Lagos discussed a wide array of topics.

Among the subjects discussed were hitches in the process of selling tickets for the home opener, the ongoing overhaul of Minnesots United’s youth academy and reserve teams, the excitement and value of having fans return to Allianz Field and an the club’s expectations of building on last season’s success.

The Loons opened the new season with a 4-0 defeat in Seattle last weekend. It was their first match since falling in Seattle in the Western Conference Final of last year’s MLS Cup playoffs.

[Editorial note: Minnesota United’s press conference preceded the verdict announcement in the Derek Chauvin trial. Questions and answers during the press conference were exchanged prior to the verdict’s announcement.]