Oct 3, 2024
The Origin of Minnesota Aurora FC
In her internship project, storytelling intern India David—one of several interns who joined Minnesota Aurora FC this season—explored the fascinating origins of our club. Through engaging conversations with the club’s founders, India dives into the vision and passion that brought this soccer team to life. Her research uncovers the challenges they faced along the way and highlights the community spirit that keeps Aurora thriving.
A group of avid soccer fans met on September 13th, 2020, at the parking lot of Urban Growler, 6 feet apart, with masks on. Wes Burdine and Matt Privratsky summoned this group, asking about 50 people if they wanted to start a Minnesota women’s soccer team. Those who took the time to work on such a project were willing to make this dream come true.
From the beginning, Burdine and Privratsky clarified that this was not their idea but that of the entire group because they would do this together.
The original goal for Aurora FC–or Minnesota Women’s Soccer as they were initially called–was to create a pre-professional women’s soccer team. Privratsky had a history as a reporter for women’s soccer teams, working with teams like the Gophers and other women’s summer teams in the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL). When he approached Burdine about the idea, they agreed there needed to be a stepping point between collegiate and professional soccer and a bigger spotlight on women’s soccer.
Privratsky explained: “Shouldn’t it be kind of doable? Like, just don’t charge players, hire women, do a good game day broadcast, and have alcohol sales. Those were the only things I cared about. Well, we can do that. I mean, I could do that.”
Aurora FC was a quarantine project between mid-2020 and 2021. Instead of learning to knit or bake bread, the founders spent their time on Zoom and in-person meetings with social distancing. In a time when the future was uncertain, having something to work on gave them hope for what our world could look like post-pandemic.
The founders are so goal-oriented and hardworking that Burdine believes they would have completed this even without the extra time caused by a global pandemic.
The state of the world at that time had a considerable influence on the community’s reaction to Aurora FC. Everyone felt a sense of loss during the pandemic, and having something to look forward to created lots of excitement and hope. The Twin Cities community had also suffered a loss with the murder of George Floyd, and the subsequent riots left many feeling uneasy. Creating a safe space for everyone to come together was important. In this way, Aurora FC was helping to heal the greater Twin Cities area.
On a national scale, the differences in how WNBA players were treated compared to the NBA were trending on social media, creating outrage at the discrepancies. The founders created a solution for people who were upset about the misogynistic problems in professional sports by allowing anyone to buy into the club.
One of the first moments of realization that this could be huge and beloved by the community was during the initial announcement. The United Soccer League for Women (USLW) had made its first announcement with its first teams, and all that was said about Aurora FC was that there would be a Minnesota women’s team.
Founder Andrea Yoch remembers seeing the crowd at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium on June 13, 2021, and realizing it wasn’t just her family and friends who had shown up; many wanted to see what the future of women’s soccer would look like.
The launch of the WeFunder, from August 31 to December 2, was also a massive moment for the founders, as they realized their dream was within reach. Aurora FC’s original budget goal was between $100,000 and $300,000. So, when it was open to the public, the founders were astonished when they blew past their goal and reached $1 million with the help of people around the country.
Aurora FC is not just a soccer team; it’s a community-driven initiative. As the first community-owned women’s soccer team in the US, it has always been focused on uniting Minnesota through the beautiful game.
The founders knew that the name should be decided by the community owners because, as always, this is a team formed by the community for the community. Founder Allie Schmidt worked with other digital designers to create three different names and branding plans and presented them to the community owners. From there, the teal, orange, and navy blue of Aurora FC was voted on and won.
This continuous work to connect owners and fans to the team’s decisions makes it feel like a unique experience, which is what many appreciate about Aurora FC. Burdine explains, “This is our thing that we’re doing together; whether you’re a community owner who isn’t on the board or just a fan or whatever, you have a stake in it, which is the central idea behind creating a club like this.”
There were many “this is happening” moments for the founders, but for most, it wasn’t until May 26, 2022, at the kickoff of the inaugural game, that it became real. Many tears were shed, and founder Elisa Vicuña summed it up perfectly: “Aurora is a living, breathing dream.”
The founders planned to open half of the seats at TCO because they thought few would attend. When 6,000 people showed up, it sunk in that this team was real and already cared for by many.
Since then, Aurora FC and the greater community have had a solid relationship as both continuously show up and support each other. TCO stadium is filled during the soccer season, and Aurora FC shows up at events throughout Minnesota to help support any and every organization.
Aurora FC’s story is not over; it won’t be over for a while. In three short years, it has become a staple in the greater Twin Cities community, and this is due to the hardworking staff who constantly come up with new ways to make this team better and more accessible to everyone in Minnesota.
Many founders have taken a step back due to different opportunities before them or the demands of other jobs. While they are all still in the loop of what is happening and sometimes called on for advice, the founders who have taken a step back have had to make the difficult move of placing their dream into the hands of others.
“It’s going to change from the way that a lot of us first imagined it.” Elisa Vicuna said, “I know it’s really hard for those of us who were the original founders to step back and relinquish control, and I think that sometimes that’s our biggest problem, that we have to let other people, who have the same dream, come in and start to run with it in their own ways.”
Some founders, such as Andréa Carroll-Franck, still work for Aurora FC. Carroll-Franck has a long history in soccer, from playing in college to coaching club teams. She has experienced the disparities between women’s and men’s athletics throughout her time on the field. Helping create Aurora FC has allowed her to help solve those issues so that future female soccer players don’t have to go through what she did. “I want this to be my literal dream job,” She said, and this is why she stays in the front office, co-leading the community side of Aurora FC; she wants to be hands-on as much as possible to help form the future of her sport.
All nine founders will forever be intertwined in Aurora FC, even if they have to step back and watch others help grow their dreams.
After interviewing the founders, staff, players, and fans, I had to ask myself why I wanted to work with Aurora FC. Why did I apply for this internship? I am about to graduate college and am in the headspace of taking advantage of any opportunity. However, from the beginning, I knew Aurora FC was unique.
The entire time I was filling out the application form, it asked me what I wanted in an internship, unlike others, which asked about my skills and accomplishments from my short time in the workforce. The people at Aurora FC wanted to help me, not have me help them. I was being treated like a human being, not someone who would be there doing errands for a few months and then disappearing.
I’ve been to many Aurora FC games and have always loved the atmosphere and energy that comes from the players, the fans, and their love for this team. I knew my state loved Aurora FC but didn’t know why.
Now I know that not only is this a fantastic soccer team with consistent on field success, but a group of people behind the team are constantly working to make Aurora FC a space for everyone. They continually reflect on their choices and how they can grow.
Carroll-Franck, one of my coordinators during this internship, continuously preaches about the importance of this team being “for community by community,” a mission statement she created. Aurora FC’s primary focus is this mission statement , and it is brought into every decision made by the front office staff. The greater community sees the care and effort put into growing this team, which excites them during games and any event Aurora FC is at. Aurora fans know that they are welcomed, no matter what; they see that they are loved and, in return, do their best to give that love right back.
This care and devotion makes me proud to say that I work with Aurora FC and have helped them grow and become an even stronger force in the soccer world and all Minnesota communities.
