"The Only Person Expected to be Loyal is the Taxpayer:"
An Investigation into the Minnesota North Stars' Relocation
“It’d be like gumbo moving out of New Orleans,” according to North Stars fan Brett Anderson. The Minnesota North Stars were a team beloved by many locals. In January 1993, however, everything changed. Norm Green, the owner of the North Stars, moved the team to Dallas. Fans went looking for someone to blame, and they settled on Green. However, team relocation goes beyond one man’s decision. Who played a role in the relocation of the North Stars? How did a beloved team leave the State of Hockey? Why were the fans forgotten in the entire process? “The Only Person Expected to be Loyal is the Taxpayer:” An Investigation into the Minnesota North Stars’ Relocation tells the story from the beginning, starting with the North Stars’ early years as told by Patrick Reusse of The Minnesota Star Tribune and Lou Nanne, former General Manager and Team President of the North Stars. As the timeline moves closer to the relocation, former employee Bob Showers and intern and author Kevin Allenspach add their and other employees' perspectives. Once the day of relocation hits, star player Mike Modano, former fan Brett Anderson, and former governor Arne Carlson add their voices to the story, which culminates by revealing how Green’s selfish intentions and the Metropolitan Sports and Facilities Commission’s attempts to control the team ended up forcing the relocation.
Zacks speaks with Arne Carlson, Governor of Minnesota from 1991-1999.
Personal Summary
I’ve always been a hockey fan. My dad is from Vancouver, and he's raised me as a truly committed Canucks fan in the State of Hockey. Growing up around Minnesota and hockey, I’ve heard plenty of stories about the North Stars. I’ve seen plenty of “Norm Green Sucks” t-shirts, boatloads of North Stars gear, and a clear sense of nostalgia when the Wild announced the return of the North Stars colors as their alternate jersey. However, I’ve never truly understood why people were so obsessed with the North Stars. When the opportunity presented itself through the Advanced Topics: Independent Historical Studies class at school, I jumped at the chance to learn more about the North Stars’ relationship with Minnesota and improve my journalism skills, since I want to have a career in journalism in the future.
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I started by researching the stakeholders of the relocation, and that led me to Arne Carlson, the governor when the team left. He was happy to do an interview, and we talked for almost an hour about the North Stars’ relocation and the impact it had on Minnesota sports. After our conversation, I reached out to The Minnesota Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse to learn more about the history of the North Stars and get his perspective on the relocation as a media member. He was happy to do it, and we talked for a while about the history of the North Stars. Once we finished talking, he gave me Lou Nanne’s contact info so I could reach out to him for an interview. We set that up, and then I went to the library to find some books about the history of the North Stars. I got home and started to read them. The author whose book stood out the most was Kevin Allenspach, so I used the contact form on his website to reach out to him about an interview. He was happy to do it, and he became one of the key perspectives in the final product. He led me to Bob Showers, who also became one of the prominent voices in the final paper. I also interviewed Brett Anderson, a fan who boycotted the NHL after the North Stars left and a friend of my teacher. At the same time, I met with someone who was able to connect me with Mike Modano, who was happy to be involved. I continued to research the fan perspective by finding articles that included quotes from fans. Once I completed all my interviews, I sat down and began to write.
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The original guidelines for my final paper should be 8-10 pages and have 25-30 sources. Mine ended up being 26 pages of writing and almost 40 sources. I completed my goal of learning about the North Stars, and I learned a lot about the impact of their relocation on the future of Minnesota sports. My hope by publishing this paper is to create a written memory of the North Stars’ relocation so that, once all who remember their emotions have moved on, we don’t go back to the past and repeat the mistakes that caused the team to leave in the first place.