Minnesota United

In January 2010, the National Sports Center announced they would field a new team to replace the Minnesota Thunder. The Thunder at the time were not officially folded but were facing financial difficulties. Following a team-naming contest, the National Sports Center (NSC) announced the official team name would be NSC Minnesota, with the team nickname being the Stars on February 5, 2010. Four days later, former United States men's national team player Manny Lagos was named as the club's first head coach.

The team played its first official game on April 11, 2010, a 2–0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps. The first goal in franchise history was scored by Daniel Wasson in their next game, a 1–0 victory over the Carolina RailHawks. The Stars enjoyed some impressive victories in their debut season, including a 3–1 win over Crystal Palace Baltimore, a 3–0 win over AC St. Louis, and a 3–1 win over FC Tampa Bay, eventually finishing fourth in their conference. Unfortunately for the Stars, they went out of the playoffs at the quarter-final stage, 4–0 on aggregate to the Carolina RailHawks, after defender Andres Arango was issued a red card after just 38 minutes. Simone Bracalello and Brian Cvilikas were the Stars' top scorers in 2010, with 5 goals each. The team averaged an attendance of 1,374 which was 10th out of the 12 league teams.

On January 9, 2012, the club announced a new logo as well as a new name. The NSC portion of the name, which had led to confusion, was dropped, with the new name being the Minnesota Stars. The new logo was revealed with the word 'NSC' removed and the state motto, L'Étoile du Nord, added. The team continued a search for a new owner in the offseason and opened the 2012 season with a 0–0 draw against the Carolina RailHawks at the Metrodome in front of a crowd of 8,693.

Minnesota faced an October 27, 2012, deadline to find new ownership to ensure a place in the NASL for the 2013 season. At the time the Minnesota Vikings expressed interest in professional soccer in Minnesota but were not contemplating purchasing the Stars. The league planned to vote on whether or not to fund the team for the 2013 season after the conclusion of the 2012 season. The USSF requirement that owners of a Division II team to be worth at least $20 million and a potential MLS bid by the Minnesota Vikings were seen as possible deterrents to finding a potential new owner. On November 9, 2012, the league officially announced that the team was purchased by Bill McGuire. On March 5, 2013, that was followed up by the team rebranding with the name Minnesota United FC. The $1.2 million budget that the Stars were operating on was expanded and the staff size increased to 20 employees for the start of the 2013 season, and has since more than doubled.

On March 25, 2015, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber announced Minnesota United as the league's 23rd club and awarded the franchise to a group led by McGuire. The ownership group includes other Minneapolis-St. Paul sports owners: Jim Pohlad, owner of the MLB's Minnesota Twins; Glen Taylor, former owner of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves; and the late Glen Nelson, former investor of the NHL's Minnesota Wild, along with his daughter Wendy Carlson Nelson, who is a board member of the Carlson Hospitality Company. They beat out a competing bid by Minnesota Vikings owners Mark and Zygi Wilf (both of whom would later become minority owners of MLS expansion franchise Nashville SC). Garber said Minnesota would begin play in 2017 or 2018 – if Los Angeles FC was not ready to play in 2017, Minnesota would take its place.

The Twin Cities were previously represented by the Minnesota Kicks in the top-level North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1976 to 1981, and later the Minnesota Strikers in 1984. The Kicks played their home games at Bloomington's Metropolitan Stadium, while the Strikers played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

The Minnesota Legislature had passed a bill in May 2012 for a new NFL stadium projected to open by fall 2016 and gave a provision allowing for the Vikings to pursue an MLS franchise, including a five-year exclusive window to host MLS games in the new stadium. The Wilfs' bid also had the support of Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, and Minnesota Senator Tom Bakk called Major League Soccer to inform them that the state legislature would not be providing financing for a soccer-specific stadium. However, Commissioner Garber said that whenever possible, the league preferred a stadium that would be an "outdoor, soccer-specific stadium, 20,000 seats, playing on grass" as opposed to larger, covered venues with artificial turf like U.S. Bank Stadium, and McGuire had the support of Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat and at least three members of the Minneapolis City Council.