Seeking 'magic unicorn,' Minnesota Aurora hopes to blaze trail to women's pro soccer

In their inaugural season, the Minnesota Aurora became one of the best stories of 2022, selling out the Vikings' 5,000-seat TCO Stadium, exceeding expectations in merchandise sales and advancing to the USL W League title game.

They have decided to explore becoming a professional team. "Now all we need," said Andrea Yoch, the team president and co-founder, "is a magic unicorn."

In 2022, the Aurora had part-time coaches and unpaid players. That will again be the case in 2023. By 2024, when the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) plans to expand and the United Soccer League (USL) will be running its Super League, the Aurora would like to be a full-fledged professional team aligned with a pro league.

They are already in the process of hiring a front office. To complete their transformation from beer-garden dream to professional competitor, they will need a lot more money.

The Aurora would prefer a woman or a member of a minority group to be their new owner or lead investor, to align with their goals of promoting women, equality and equity in sports.

"We really, really want to stay true to our mission of community-minded women standing up for marginalized communities," Yoch said Monday. "We want to find a lead investor that believes in those things and is, ideally, female or a minority.

"When you look at wealth in the United States, it is very lopsided — predominantly held by white men. We're looking at a narrow group of investors who fit our criteria, and that group is narrowed even more if we're going to look in Minnesota. That's not what we have to do, but, obviously, we'd like to have a Minnesotan.

Yoch noted that investments from white men are appreciated. She thanked the Wilfs, owners of the Vikings, for their support and the use of the stadium.

Lynx coach and GM Cheryl Reeve often says that the difference between women's and men's sports is that men receive investments up front, while women have to prove their value before being viewed as worthy of funding.

That's what's happening with the Aurora. They exceeded all expectations last year. Their attendance was better than half of the existing professional women's soccer teams.

On Saturday night, the NWSL championship game for the first time was televised in primetime on network TV, when CBS carried the game. The league set an attendance record this season.

Women's sports are on the rise across the board in terms of television ratings and attendance, and the women's Final Four in Minneapolis last spring was an obvious hit.

"The funding we have right now is amazing for an amateur team," Yoch said. "But we don't have a payroll. Taking a leap to the professional ranks requires much deeper pockets. That's why models like ours don't exist at higher levels, because at the end of the day, it requires millions and millions of dollars."

The Aurora currently play in the USL W League, which will expand to around 50 teams for 2023. The USL is building its "Super" league with pro teams. The NWSL has announced it will expand in 2024.

Without a major investor, the Aurora could remain in the W League, but they declared their ambition to turn pro with a news release last week.

"One pro league is more expensive than the other, but both cost more than what we have right now," Yoch said. "So if we want to be applying for either of those leagues, and the deadlines are coming up soon, we have to find that lead investor, or we have to figure out a different way forward.

"We can continue to do what we've been doing, but when you fill your stadium and sell lots of merchandise, everybody's eyes get big. We're trying to figure out what is possible, and where we want to be in 10 years."