Major League Soccer is “intrigued” with the idea of Minnesota’s expansion franchise playing in St. Paul instead of its original destination of Minneapolis, Commissioner Don Garber said.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Garber said, “We’ve now become intrigued by a possibility of having a stadium be in St. Paul.”

A 35-acre site for a stadium and mixed-use development was proposed at Interstate 94 and Snelling Avenue, and Mayor Chris Coleman said he’s committed to bringing MLS to St. Paul.

MLS Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott plans to meet with Coleman and Minnesota United FC owner Bill McGuire and his partners in St. Paul in the next week or so.

McGuire, the former UnitedHeath Group CEO, was at the MLS All-Star Game in Denver earlier this week. He also was at last year’s All-Star Game in Portland as he worked to secure an expansion franchise expected to begin play by 2018.

Barber said Tuesday on Facebook that McGuire was in Denver and “working hard to finalize the (stadium) situation.”

MLS awarded an expansion franchise to United in March, but an initial plan to seek state and local tax help in building a privately financed $120 million stadium in downtown Minneapolis fell through before the league-mandated deadline July 1.

That day, Abbott said St. Paul had entered the picture.

MLS has run into problems with finding a stadium plan for an proposed expansion franchise in Miami and wants to avoid a repeat in Minnesota.

“Similar with Miami, though, without a stadium, you can’t go forward anywhere,” Garber said. “But we remain hopeful.”

Follow Andy Greder at twitter.com/andygreder.