05/15/2026
The “Minnesota sports curse” may finally have a suspected origin, but the question of how to break it remains unresolved. Some believe the answer could be tied to the land where the Mall of America now stands.
Before the mall opened on August 11, 1992, that area was home to two major stadiums: Metropolitan Stadium and the Met Center. Between them, the site hosted an extraordinary range of professional sports, including NFL, MLB, NHL, ABA, and NASL teams.
At Metropolitan Stadium, fans once watched the Minnesota Twins (1961–1981), the Minnesota Vikings (1961–1981), and the Minnesota Kicks (1976–1981).
Nearby at Met Center, the Minnesota North Stars played from 1967 to 1993, the Minnesota Kicks also played indoor soccer there from 1979–1981, and the Minnesota Muskies ABA team had a brief run in 1968–1969.
Together, these venues represent the only known location where Minnesota’s five major men’s professional sports categories: Football (NFL), Baseball (MLB), Hockey (NHL), Basketball (ABA), now NBA, and Soccer (NASL), now MLS all once played on what is now the Mall of America site.
The Minnesota Twins were the last major men’s team to win a championship in 1991, just before the mall opened. Not long after, the Minnesota North Stars relocated to Dallas, following failed efforts to secure a new arena connected to the mall site.
Supporters of the “curse theory” argue that the timing is too coincidental to ignore. Others believe it’s just sports history and economics playing out as usual. And one other is the land of Minnesota is cursed. But the latter of the two can be ruled out by Women's sports.
This idea is often not extended to women’s professional sports teams, many of which were founded after the mall was built and therefore have no direct historical ties to the former stadium grounds. Let alone both Lynx and Frost have won championships!
It leads to ongoing speculation: is it just coincidence, or could something about the site itself be influencing Minnesota sports fortunes? Should we consider removing all sports team stores from Mall of America, maybe avoiding team appearances there, or reconsidering how the old stadium sites are commemorated (Home Plate and the Empty Stadium Seat in the amusement park)
Follow this page to help find the solution and cheer on MN sports until this curse is finally broken!
