Blaine is getting its own professional baseball team. The American Association of Professional Baseball announced Wednesday that an independent expansion club will play in a new 5,000-seat stadium anchoring the city's $750 million downtown development near the National Sports Center, marking the league's return to Minnesota for the first time since the St. Paul Saints left independent ball in 2020.
League commissioner Joshua Schaub said the American Association will bring the new team to Blaine, describing the stadium as more than a ballpark. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Schaub called it a cultural platform for the city, and the venue is expected to open in 2028. Blaine officials have not yet announced a name for the team, the paper reports.
The stadium is the centerpiece of a project called The Farm, a nearly 70-acre sports and entertainment hub taking shape at 105th Avenue, Nassau Street and Radisson Road. Elevage and Bader presented the vision for the district, which is projected to cost $750 million overall. The stadium itself carries a price tag of nearly $71 million, with $8 million of that covered by private investment and the rest financed through $63 million in bonds that the Blaine City Council agreed to issue, per the same Star Tribune report. The baseball and stadium ownership group will pay down that debt through a lease agreement, according to the paper.
A Decade of Land Assembly Behind the New District
The project traces back to 2016, when the city began acquiring 1970s-era warehouses and other aging buildings along 105th Avenue to clear the way for redevelopment. The Blaine Economic Development Authority spent years assembling those parcels, according to the City of Blaine, laying the groundwork for the 69.3-acre master plan that Hoodline first covered in its town center master plan report.
City Manager Erik Thorvig described the project as generational, saying it will change Blaine, Anoka County and the National Sports Center, per the Star Tribune. Mayor Tim Sanders said residents have long asked for more entertainment options and amenities, and he called the district the new heart of the city, the paper reports.
What Else Is Coming to The Farm
Beyond the ballpark, the district is set to include restaurants, pickleball courts, parks and trails, along with 450 apartments and 240 hotel rooms, according to the Star Tribune's reporting. The city has already completed utility work, internal building roads and a reconstruction of 105th Avenue that added another roundabout, the paper notes.
The stadium itself will host youth baseball and softball, community events, and interactions between children and professional players, in addition to other sporting events and concerts. City planning approval documents reviewed separately show the venue is designed for a maximum capacity of 5,000 patrons with 3,034 fixed seats, supported by an initial layout of 1,743 parking spaces, and includes full artificial turf to accommodate non-baseball events such as concerts and lacrosse.
Scheels Flagship Anchors the Retail Side
The district's private commercial anchor is a 250,000-square-foot Scheels flagship store, part of a $150 million sporting goods project that includes a 750-stall parking ramp for public use, according to the Star Tribune. The Blaine City Council approved an $84 million tax incentive package for the store last year. Hoodline previously reported that the flagship is set to open in 2028 with an indoor Ferris wheel, a saltwater aquarium and a wildlife mountain, according to Quad Community Press.
Why Blaine Is Betting Big on Sports Tourism
The development leans on Blaine's existing sports tourism infrastructure. The neighboring National Sports Center draws over 4 million visitors annually and generated roughly $71 million in direct visitor spending across 63 events in 2024, according to Sports ETA. Blaine also hosts Minnesota's only PGA Tour event, the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities, which draws about 100,000 spectators and an estimated $50 million in regional economic impact each year, per KARE 11. City leaders have pointed to a shortage of hotels and dining options during those major event weeks as a key motivation for the new district.
The city's population has grown steadily too, with U.S. Census Bureau estimates placing Blaine at 72,488 residents in 2024, up from 70,222 in the 2020 Census. Supporting infrastructure is also underway: the Minnesota Department of Transportation is carrying out a $201 million reconstruction of Highway 65 through Blaine, funded by $168 million in state money and $33 million in federal funds, aimed at improving traffic flow along the redevelopment corridor, according to the City of Blaine.
League Growth Fuels Expansion Push
The American Association, formed in 2006, operates as an official MLB Partner League with 12 teams across the Midwest and Canada, running 100-game regular seasons from mid-May through Labor Day, according to the Kansas City Monarchs. The league extended Schaub's contract for three years this past July, citing 100% growth in sponsorship revenue over the prior three seasons, with Schaub emphasizing real estate-integrated ballpark developments in markets like Milwaukee and Waco, Texas. The Saints, who played in the American Association from 2006 through 2020, became the Minnesota Twins' Triple-A affiliate that year, leaving the independent circuit without a Minnesota presence until now.
