MASL 2 Minnesota Blizzard to serve as official MASL affiliate of Kansas City Comets

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – One of the Major Arena Soccer League's most respected and admired franchises, the Kansas City Comets, will partner with the MASL 2 Minnesota Blizzard who will serve as their official affiliate for the 2025-26 season, team officials have announced.

The Blizzard will be starting their second season at the 5,000 seat Warner Coliseum on the grounds of the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in the Twin Cities. The Comets regularly lead the MASL in attendance at Cable Dahmer Arena and have a roster that routinely includes some of the top talent in the league.

“When deciding on which M2 Franchise to partner with it was a simple decision,” said Comets Managing Partner, Brian Budzinski. “The Blizzard play in beautiful Warner Coliseum which seats 5,000 fans. They have aspirations on and off the field to compete in M1 in the future and we look forward to working with their ownership and technical staff on that transition”.

Blizzard owner Chad Hendricks said the Comets are a team to emulate.

“I’m incredibly excited to partner with the Kansas City Comets organization. The Comets have a storied legacy in indoor soccer, and I still remember watching them take on the Minnesota Strikers at the Met Center back in the 80s,” Hendricks said. “This Blizzard-Comets affiliation is a major step forward for our club. The opportunity to have Comets players suit up for the Blizzard will immediately raise the level of talent and competition on our roster. At the same time, it gives our players valuable exposure to Division 1 indoor soccer, creating a clear pathway for development and future growth.”

The Kansas City market is rich in indoor soccer history, dating all the way back to the debut of the inaugural Comets team in the original Major Indoor Soccer League in 1981, and immediately drew large Crowds to Kemper Arena. In 1983-84, they averaged over 15,700 fans a game there. The Minnesota Strikers also were in the league at that time, playing five seasons at the former Met Center from 1984-1988. This season will mark the 40th anniversary of Minnesota falling in the the MISL championship series to the San Diego Sockers at the end of the 1985-86 season, falling in a seventh deciding game in San Diego, with the Strikers drawing sell-out crowds of almost 16,000 to all three of their home games.

The National Professional Soccer League Kansas City Attack won the 1992-93 league championship on April 30, 1993, with 12,134 fans in attendance at Kemper Arena, defeating the Cleveland Crunch, 17-5 to win the title series three games to two. Major Arena Soccer League 2 Commissioner Chris Economides was part of the Attack ownership group. In 2013-14, the Comets

won the MISL title over the Baltimore Blast. This second iteration of the Comets began play in 2010 as the Missouri Comets and will be celebrating their 16 season of play since their return.

“Kansas City has always been a great market for indoor soccer, and the Comets have built back that tradition of big crowds and winning soccer,” Economides noted. “The Blizzard are one of the best run MASL 2 teams, so these two teams getting together to become official affiliates just makes sense. It will be a big benefit to both in developing players the right way.”

As an official affiliate of the MASL Comets, player movement between the teams will be subject to the provisions of the player agreement presently in place.

MASL teams that have an official affiliation agreement with MASL 2 teams will be allowed to have up to five players sign a dual contract with both their MASL and affiliated MASL 2 teams at the beginning of the MASL season. Two of those five players will be considered their MASL/MASL 2 Designated Players (DP). These two Designated Players (DP) will be allowed to play with either their MASL or affiliated MASL 2 team for an unlimited number of games throughout the regular MASL/MASL 2 season and/or playoffs. Once these two Designated Players (DP) are selected they cannot be changed on the MASL/MASL 2 rosters unless they have a season-ending injury, are traded, or have been released by either or both clubs.

The other three dual contract players will become the Limited Designated Players (LDP) and will be allowed to play for both their MASL and MASL 2 affiliated teams up until their 12th MASL game played. Once they have played in their 12th MASL game, they must be replaced on the LDP list and can no longer play any affiliated MASL 2 team games.

The MASL will start its 12th season of play in late fall, with MASL 2 set to kick off its ninth season at the same time. For more information on the Comets, visit kccomets.com, or on the league at maslsoccer.com. More information on the Blizzard can be found at mnblizzardfc.com, or on the league at masl2.com.