NASL Minnesota United FC

Mending Fences: Fox 9 Teams with NSC Minnesota Stars to Help Raise Money for Tornado Relief

Published on June 8, 2011 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Minnesota United FC News Release


BLAINE, Minn. (June 8, 2011) - The NSC Minnesota Stars and Fox 9 News are hoping to mend fences June 18, both figuratively and literally. The Blaine-based soccer club has invited Fox 9's Ian Leonard to attend its match that day against FC Edmonton in an effort to bring the station and the Twin Cities' soccer fans face-to-face to shake hands following tornado warnings preempting the station's coverage of the May 28 UEFA Champions League Final. The Stars had previously announced that they would be raising money for the Twin Cities chapter of the American Red Cross during the game.

To that end, the Stars are donating $1 from every ticket sold to the June 18 game to the Red Cross and will station collection boxes throughout the stadium on game day. Fox 9 chief meteorologist Ian Leonard, who was on air for much of the weather coverage, has agreed to help further the fundraising efforts. With a donation of at least $2, fans can take three shots at plunging Leonard into a dunk tank on the plaza at NSC Stadium. Soccer fans will have their shot at revenge from 7 p.m. until the game's 7:30 kickoff.

An extended tornado warning south of the Twin Cities left the second half of the game relegated to a small box in the corner of the screen. The station's coverage of a storm that ended up missing the metro area and producing no tornadoes angered many of the fans who had tuned into the game, leading to many negative comments on Fox 9's Facebook and Twitter pages.

"I understand it as a soccer fan, and I relate with feeling slighted during the biggest game of the year, but I also understand Fox 9 has a severe weather policy that it upheld and that particularly resonated after the events a week before the game," Stars CEO Djorn Buchholz said. "I'm a little embarrassed and disappointed at some of the comments that were directed toward Fox 9, and I hope now we can shake hands, have a little fun with the whole ordeal and raise some money for our North Minneapolis neighbors who are recovering from the tornado on May 22."

General admission tickets for the game start at just $6 for youth age 17 and younger and $12 for adults. The team is also offering a special Father's Day package that includes a youth and an adult general admission ticket, two hot dogs and two drinks for $25. To order tickets, call the Stars ticket office at (763) 792-7355 or visit NSCMinnesota.com.

Check out the Minnesota United FC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



North American Soccer League Stories from June 8, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central