NSC Minnesota Stars are now Minnesota Stars FC

The NSC Minnesota Stars launched a new logo Monday night at Brit’s Pub in Minneapolis, and with it, a slight name change. The Stars dropped the “NSC” from the club moniker, announcing that the team will now be known as Minnesota Stars FC.

Dark Clouds member Kevin Joseph designed the logo for the team in a six-month process that started last summer. The new logo made the star element of the original logo more prominent while increasing the prominence of the word “Minnesota” and adding the name Stars, which was an unofficial nickname when the National Sports Center launched NSC Minnesota in 2010. Joseph’s design also includes the Minnesota state motto and a subtle soccer ball element.

The logo launch highlighted the evening’s State of the Stars festivities, which also included presentations from CEO Djorn Buchholz and head coach and director of soccer operations Manny Lagos. Buchholz addressed the team’s off-field goals for 2012 and shared information about the club’s April 7 home opener at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. Lagos talked about the team’s on-field ambitions and the importance of avoiding complacency as the defending champions. Lagos said five players from the club’s January 6 local combine have been invited to continue training with the team as it prepares for preseason. He also announced plans for the club to hold a combine in Arizona at the beginning of March in order to scout players based in the southwest United States.