Auto news on Youtube Mar 29 2018

Paul Bunyan: What do Minnesota DNR volunteers do?

Narrator: They put radio collars on prairie birds,

collect prairie seeds,

record fish population data,

make bluebird houses,

monitor bluebird houses,

record stream data,

capture deer for research,

attach radio-tracking collars,

measure lake water levels,

perform as Smokey Bear,

Paul Bunyan: Is that bear a fictional character?

Narrator: teach firearm safety

monitor horse trails,

measure lake health,

restore prairie wildlife habitat,

make forestry teaching aids,

remove invasive plants,

remove invasive plants,

remove more invasive plants,

Paul Bunyan: and remove even more invasive plants,

Narrator: help with candle-light ski events,

restore lakeshore plants,

clean up riverbanks,

keep rainfall records.

band birds for research,

gather seeds,

teach snowshoe making,

tag birds,

teach ice fishing,

make signs,

teach basket weaving,

monitor loon populations,

make nesting boxes

install nest boxes,

and they help keep Minnesota's outdoors great!

Paul Bunyan: You can help, too.

Check out the DNR website

for volunteer opportunities at www.mndnr.gov.

For more infomation >> Minnesota DNR Volunteer Recruitment - 90 sec. - Duration: 1:48.

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A Conversation with Minnesota United CEO Chris Wright (PART ONE) - Duration: 11:14.

That end of the stadium will drive the experience for

the rest of the fans inside of the stadium.

They'll be singing. It will be chanting. It will be smoke.

It will be a lot of different things that will drive this iconic feel.

We have a real treat for you now,

here with CEO Chris Wright. Chris, thanks so much for joining us.

Jared: I thought a good place to start would be with some of your past experience.

Most of us in this business know you from your 26 years with the Timberwolves and the Lynx.

What led you to transitioning from those brands to this new brand here in the same marketplace?

Chris: Lots of things to what you ask, Jared. But number one, I came from soccer.

So I played, I coached, was the general manager of a couple of franchises over here -

Pittsburgh Spirit and Minnesota Strikers, before I found my way to the NBA.

So I'm back to my first passion and back to my love,

and really what a way to maybe end a career by

building a brand new stadium, building a team.

So the team side of this operation reports to me as well. But then also building the business,

and really establishing the franchise here in the marketplace. So all of that.

The other piece of it that was very compelling was the ownership group led by Dr. McGuire,

with Glen Taylor, who I'd encouraged actually to invest in this team,

as the team emerged in the MLS last year.

But then the Pohlad family, the Binger family from the McKnight Foundation,

Matt Mithun from the Mithun family, Campbell Mithun,

the Mortenson family, one of the top-three builders in the country,

Jeremy Jacobs from Delaware North, all part of the ownership group.

And that piece of it was really compelling for me because I think when you look at the power of the

ownership group, you see how this ownership group could potentially take this team not only to market,

but how it could become a flagship franchise for the MLS.

Jared: Even with all the experience of all those stakeholders that you mentioned,

you started by saying "a chance to build a stadium", "a chance to build a franchise",

"a chance to build a business".

So it's more of a startup mentality than an established brand, so transitioning from the Timberwolves

and the Lynx, which were established in this marketplace, to something brand new and

fresh and exciting - that's two different mindsets and two different mentalities for running a business.

So can you talk a little bit about the differences and why you wanted to,

at the end of your career, shift to a startup mentality?

Chris: I've been involved with really two startups previous to this one - Pittsburgh Spirit.

When I took over the Pittsburgh Spirit, Edward J. DeBartolo had taken a franchise

that had been in mothballs for a while, and so he gave me the opportunity to lead that organization.

So we established the MISL in what was the American football city of the country, Pittsburgh, in a big way.

And lots of incredible business lessons came out of that.

Then the Minnesota Lynx. Obviously, when we brought them to market here,

establishing them in this marketplace. So this is really the third time that

I've been down a path of a quasi-expansion franchise, startup, however you want to describe it.

But getting in on the ground floor of really what do you want the stadium to be?

How do you describe the atmosphere of the stadium?

What do you want the fans to feel when they walk in and walk out of this stadium?

And so we want that to be iconic and really declare a vision for the franchise,

in terms of fan experience and how we're going to put all that together.

But then, what is this team going to represent?

What is the style of play? What type of players are we looking for?

And then obviously to build a front office to be able to support all that,

and build a business to support all of that. That always has been an incredible challenge for me.

We went through a lot of different types of years with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

We were out of the playoffs for a long time,

so we had to reinvent ourselves often during that 12-year period of time.

This is my opportunity to really invent, with 72 great professionals, what this franchise is going to be,

and that for me is the potential of leaving a legacy

for what this franchise can be in this marketplace for a long period of time.

Jared: How does Allianz Field compare to what we've seen come online in Major League Soccer

in recent years, and how is it going to lead the next crop that comes up behind you,

in terms of new builds and major changes and makeovers to facilities?

Chris: The very first differentiator is the fact that we are not supported by

any form of public financing whatsoever. It's a privately financed stadium which is very unusual today.

There is a level of maybe stadium fatigue in this marketplace.

I came from an environment, whereby Glen Taylor put in 50 million-plus (dollars) of 150 million (dollars)

that went into Target Center. So to a degree, Target Center was subsidized by public money.

This is not. So the ownership group here is basically funding,

not only the expansion [fee] - $100 million, but a $200 million stadium.

The good news/bad news there is that we can design it

without any influence really from a public entity that is going to be part of the stadium.

And this is beautifully designed. So if you take a look at Bayern Munich's stadium in Germany,

if you take a look at the work that Populous is doing worldwide right now,

especially with Tottenham Hotspur and White Hart Lane,

we have a great architect who is bringing an awful lot of different ideas,

but we have a real vision for the look and feel of the stadium.

That will be number one. And number two, the iconic piece of the stadium is going to be

something that we're going to call "Wonderwall",

which is 2,800 safe-standing areas inside of one end of the stadium where there will be no seats,

where our supporter's section will be.

If you take a look at Borussia Dortmund and the great "Yellow Wall" of 23,000 fans,

this is a much smaller version of that, but we're going to establish that end of our stadium.

That end of the stadium will drive the experience for the rest of the fans inside of the stadium.

They'll be singing. It will be chanting. It will be smoke.

It will be a lot of different things that will drive this iconic feel that we have inside the stadium.

And also, it's a very tight stadium, so it's being designed so that there is not really a bad seat in the house.

It's very sheer. Arguably the worst seat in the house will be a very good seat.

Everybody will feel on top of the playing surface.

So in terms of creating a home-court, home-field feel for our team, we're going to be able

to do that very easily with 20,000 rabid fans that we're going to have in there every single game.

Jared: So you mentioned Wonderwall. I know you have done a

phenomenal job here of creative storytelling and creating this brand,

Wonderwall being one segment, one chapter of that story.

Just so people aren't making assumptions or wondering what the heck they're talking about,

what is Wonderwall? What does that mean?

Chris: There is a tradition inside of our stadium.

Obviously, soccer is built around traditions. We have three incredible traditions.

We have a march to the match. We have something that is called "Scarves Up",

which is our marketing theme this year. Every single time we have a corner kick,

20,000 fans raise scarves above their heads and twirl them.

And then we have this Wonderwall tradition, where at the end of a game,

when we have won, all of our players go and stand in front of our supporters section,

link arms, and our fans sing the Oasis song Wonderwall.

And it really came out of our locker room, probably about four or five years ago where two players,

when they won games, used to sing this song inside of the locker room.

Our fans heard that, they basically took it into the stands, and then after a game,

they basically sing that back to our team. It's an incredible tradition.

I would say go YouTube the video of Minnesota United fans singing to the players.

It gives you goosebumps when you when you hear this.

So we're going to name that area of our stadium after that song.

And who knows, can we get Liam Gallagher back to sing it as part of our opening weekend?

We don't know that yet. But I mean obviously,

there are some great opportunities for us to maximize that opportunity.

Jared: Taking a step back, looking at the entire site, can you tell us the advantages of the site?

There were a number of different areas where we could have placed a stadium.

But I think in the end, if you begin to take a look at its position between the two cities,

St. Paul has a really rich history in soccer. The Lagos family is very well-known.

Buzz Lagos is known as the grandfather of soccer in the state of Minnesota

He goes back to the Minnesota Thunder/Stars days when this team played up in Blaine, Minnesota.

So it's equidistant between the two cities, on a major highway (I-94),

on the light rail transit site, and on the Greenway.

These days, there are so many different ways that people get to games and leave games.

But the fact that people will be able to cycle to a game is incredible,

with the light rail right there, a station right outside, which we will hopefully rename Allianz Field Station.

And then there are six universities within six miles of the stadium,

all somewhat within walking distance of the stadium, some within three miles.

So not only from a staffing standpoint, but from a fan support standpoint, it seemed like the ideal location.

And the Midway area, that's the name of the geographical location, has really embraced us.

We're beginning to work with Chambers of Commerce, the non-profits inside of that area,

building relationships with them so that we're accepted into the neighborhood in the right way.

For more infomation >> A Conversation with Minnesota United CEO Chris Wright (PART ONE) - Duration: 11:14.

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Allianz Field Experience Center: A Brand-Building Tutorial from Minnesota United FC - Duration: 4:12.

With the opening of Allienz Field in March of 2019 we are going to create an

atmosphere that is going to be second to none in professional soccer in the

United States of America. I would like to welcome you today to the Allianz field

Experience Center

Bryant Pfeiffer: What do we stand for as a club? What do we value? What's our vision? And this is what

we came up with. What we're all about is really inspiring and uniting our

community. It's what it all comes down to. Our last five games of the year we sold out

every game, we averaged over 20,000 fans a game, 22,000 fans a game actually.

New stadium capacity as mentioned is 19,600, so we outsold our future capacity

these last five games.

So this is our tradition "Wonderwall". After a win at home the crowd breaks out

singing the Oasis song Wonderwall. The entire crowd stands and sings it.

It gives you chills. It is really one of the most unique things that we have

going in our fan experience. "Resilient, inclusive, dedicated, passion, teamwork, and

respect". As an organization we aspire to live those words. We think they're very

reflective of people in Minnesota and our fans. This our crest. I think people

love all the connectivity to Minnesota. So obviously the Loon is the state bird

of Minnesota, the blue stripe is representative of Mississippi River, the

North Star, the star of the north, the red-eye. The Loon has 11 wings which is

representative each player on the pitch. There's over 40

years of pro soccer in this market. Many people don't know that. Dating all the

way back to the mid 70s with with the Minnesota Kicks, Minnesota Strikers,

played indoor soccer. Chris Wright actually was the GM for the Strikers

back when they started.

So come around the corner and we'll take a little bit of a closer look inside the

stadium. First off here's a live webcam. So this is about 40% done. Seating has

gone in in some areas of the building. You can't quite see it, but directly behind

is Interstate 94. So this is the hologram display. You'll meet Tim

Drake the owner of the company. It was made in Ontario, Canada, took about four months to

build. Tim Drake: Since we don't have a physical building in place, we use a virtual

model to be able to show and inform people what they can expect Chris Wright: We have a

march to the match, we have scarves up at corner kicks, we have the singing of

Wonderwall whenever we win our games. I want to know from our fans what new

rituals, what new traditions are you going to bring? Announcer: Nestled between

Minneapolis in the West and St. Paul in the East in the aptly named Midway

neighborhood, Allianz Field is a stadium that will put Minnesota on the

international stage.

Bryant Pfeiffer: We've given a full interactive experience, compared options, we've

gone through pricing, you land on your two seats down by the pitch,

we'll have this set up as a seat-selection room. Chris Wright: It'll be singing, it will

be chanting, it will be smoke, it will be a lot of different

things that will drive this iconic feel.

-fans singing Wonderwall-

For more infomation >> Allianz Field Experience Center: A Brand-Building Tutorial from Minnesota United FC - Duration: 4:12.

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The ALSD's Top-Five Takeaways from Minnesota United and the Allianz Field Experience Center - Duration: 6:01.

The spirit of a start-up.

But with already deep-rooted traditions.

Minnesota United is a textbook for creative storytelling.

Hey there ALSD, Jared Frank here, your Editorial Director, back again to cap off our

video series featuring Minnesota United, a brand telling a pretty unique story for only

beginning their second season of competition in MLS.

Here are my top-5 favorite chapters from that brand story.

The story begins with Wonderwall.

Yeah, like the Oasis song.

Wonderwall is the name given to the 2,800-space, not seat, safe-standing supporters section

to be included in Allianz Field, currently under construction in St. Paul.

So about this Wonderwall ritual.

It dates back to the club's NASL days when after a big win, the coaches and players would

sing the Gallagher brothers' ditty.

It didn't take long for the crowd to catch on and join in, transforming Wonderwall from

this, into a rally anthem for Minnesota soccer.

Bryant Pfeiffer: It gives you chills, it is really one of the most unique things that

we have going in our fan experience.

Chris Wright: It will be a lot of different things that will drive this iconic feel that

we have inside the stadium.

Jared: The second chapter is Minnesota United's award-winning crest, already incredibly popular

from a merchandising standpoint, stemming from its clean design and connectivity

to Minnesota.

It depicts a loon, the state bird of Minnesota, peering up (and presumably singing Wonderwall)

with its red eye gazing at the North Star, inspired by the state motto.

Quick side note: The red eye is also illustrated on the team's kits, a red button sewn into

the jersey's collar.

The loon majestically flashes a wing of 11 feathers, one for each player on the pitch,

flying over a blue stripe, representative of the Mississippi River which bisects Minneapolis

and St. Paul.

The next chapter is Scarves Up, this year's marketing slogan for Minnesota United.

The marketing mantra is in reference to the Minnesota United's ritual of spinning scarves

overhead like a helicopter, Petey Pablo style, on every corner kick for the Loons.

Turns out scarves come in handy in Minneapolis in February, for more reasons than one.

The first reason is obvious: 30 degrees is a heat wave in Minneapolis in February.

But the second reason came as a surprise to me.

While traversing Minneapolis' labyrinth in the sky, I unzipped my coat, exposing my

new Minnesota United scarf.

The scarf is a mark of tribal significance for soccer clubs around the globe that rings

true in the Twin Cities as I quickly learned from one innocuous passerby.

"Scarves Up!", he said.

I kid you not, he pronounced it loud and proud, totally unaware that I was a warm-weather

foreigner in this American arctic.

No matter.

I had on that scarf, it was like knowing the secret handshake.

That really demonstrates the power of the culture that Minnesota United has already built.

I was warm, and I met a new friend.

"Scarves Up" I say.

On the southwest side of the Allianz Field, a sculpture will be introduced, comprised

of letters, 12-feet-high and 65-feet-wide, spelling out "UNITED".

This element serves as a monument to the first 11,842 season ticket members of Minnesota

United, a collection of fans known as the Itasca Society.

The Itasca Society derives its name from Itasca State Park in northern Minnesota – the location

for the source of the Mississippi River.

Why 11,842?

Because that's the exact number of lakes in Minnesota.

The Land of 10,000 Lakes?

False advertising.

Bryant Pfeiffer: We think this will be a destination spot on the property, a place to get your

selfie next to your name and a panoramic shot with the stadium in the backdrop.

Jared: One final "wow moment" awaits new season ticket buyers as they walk out the door of

the Allianz Field Experience Center.

Anyone who purchases seats is invited to sign a Minnesota United flag that will fly in Allianz

Field.

As fans approach and apply their Jon Hancock, an overhead motion-sensor speaker triggers

the playing of Wonderwall, reinforcing the rite and ritual of being a Minnesota United

fan, and closing the story arc where it began.

You can't use these chapters.

These belong to Minnesota United.

But think about your brand, your identity, your culture, the things your tribe owns and

only your tribe owns.

Well anyways, here's Wonderwall.

-fans singing Wonderwall-