McGuire and MNUFC's new CEO have a vision for the Loons - and the league

New Minnesota United FC chief executive officer Christina Hennington readily admits that she isn't a soccer die-hard, but as someone who's been to Loons games in the past, she already knows what she thinks is important about MNUFC.

Namely: those fans are something else, man.

"As someone who has been here as a fan and has gotten to know the club much more throughout this process, it is unequivocal that the fan experience is unique and compelling and something that needs to continue to be protected - and built on, frankly," she said, at her introductory press conference.

Hennington, who grew up in Norway, was more into skiing as a youth - "born on skis," she said. She arrives at Allianz Field after more than two decades with Target, having advanced all the way to a role as the company's chief strategy and growth officer. She left Target last May, though - and by the sounds of it, her hiring process with the Loons started not too long after that.

She has big shoes to fill: departing CEO Shari Ballard was named last year's MLS Executive of the Year. Ballard is retiring at the end of the year, and will be training her replacement - so to speak - through the rest of 2026.

And fans, Hennington is ready to listen to you, too. "I have a lot to learn and I have to get to know a lot of people," she said. "They make it so compelling and so unique in such a meaningful way that it's also a privilege to... try to craft an experience that keeps people coming back."

It was clear throughout my chance to sit down with Hennington that she sees Loons fandom as something that needs to be experienced to be understood. MNUFC has always been ready to bet on itself in that way; they believe that if they can just get you to go once, you'll be back again after.

It was also day four of a new job for Hennington, so she certainly wasn't about to announce massive changes or tout anything she'd done so far. But her boss seemed pleased with the first four days. When Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press asked a question about the schedule changes coming next year, she said to Loons managing partner Dr. Bill McGuire, "You want to take this one?"

Said McGuire: "I'm doing well having you answer all of them. Why do you want to change?"

McGuire's vision for MLS: Balanced, and more than just Messi

The World Cup was, of course, still on everyone's minds. It remains a huge opportunity for all of American soccer. (Since writing that this might be the bump-free World Cup earlier this week, I've had two friends - neither of them previously big soccer fans - tell me that they were completely locked into the semifinals. I should probably send their phone numbers to the Loons ticket office.)

For McGuire, the best way to take advantage of the World Cup is to move beyond just talking about Messi. "I think the league in general needs to, in my view, expand the focus on players and the game rather than just an individual or two superstar," he said. "I think we are more than a league that has Lionel Messi."

McGuire also identified the presentation of games as being an opportunity. "We all know, at least people that follow soccer on a world basis, you know what it's like to listen to some of - for instance - the great announcers up there and how they call the game and how they evoke energy," he said. "How can we do the same kind of things through our own production, so when our fans follow, they see and feel that same kind of energy?"

It's also no secret that there are plenty of MLS owners who want to use the World Cup as a great reason to loosen the purse strings a bit. Paul Tenorio's excellent book The Messi Effect could have been subtitled "Why Jorge Mas thinks the rest of the league should quit throwing nickels around like manhole covers."

In McGuire's view, the path to success for MLS looks a lot more like the NFL and a lot less like the Premier League. "There's always somebody with more money, and there are a lot of them out there with more money than we have," he said. "I recognize there will be that discrepancy, but the league needs to make sure - as perhaps the NFL has done successfully, more successfully than anybody - that you have reasonable competitive balance."

Interestingly, at virtually the same time as the Loons press conference, MLS Commissioner Don Garber was on stage in New York at a league-wide marketing event, sitting with FOX host Rob Stone and giving a slightly different answer. "We've got to focus on what's next: better players, better development, perhaps a league that has even better infrastructure, particularly at the development level, than we have now," said Garber.

Players, development, infrastructure - it sure sounds like the commissioner is sounding a call for extra investment.

As far as the schedule shift, McGuire sounded a note of optimism - well, optimism for him, at least. "I don't think it will be as dire as any of us think it could be," he said. "And I promise you nobody can think up how things can be more dire than I can."

Hennington described herself as having an "adrenaline junkie side," and she might need it. With a new job on the back of the World Cup, she's not about to have a lot of dull moments.