The Minnesota Wild have called one building home for their entire existence. The question they’re now facing is, for how much longer? Since the puck dropped for the first time back on October 11, 2000 the building known as the Xcel Energy Center has been their only home. While some things, the name of the arena for one thing, are changing, the basic foundations of the building are pretty much the same since the doors opened.
In the grand scheme of time, the universe, and everything, 25 years doesn’t sound like a very long time. However, in the sports world, it’s an eternity for one building to go without any type of major renovation. Times change, and so do the habits and requirements of sports fans. In order for a building or arena to remain relevant, changes have to be made.
For the last two seasons, Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leopold has been trying to convince the local and state governments to help with some needed renovations for the 25-year-old building now known as Grand Casino Arena. An initial $770 million renovation project that included improvements to the Saint Paul RiverCentre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium as well as the Grand Casino Arena was cleaved in half back in May.
The new project, estimated at $488 million, would focus on just the Wild’s arena with the team providing $238 million with the city and other local entities putting up the other $200 million. The state of Minnesota would also kick in $50 million. Unfortunately, the most recent meeting of the legislature did not approve the funding, so things are stalled at the moment.
What exactly are the Wild looking to renovate? Part of the reason that this is coming up now is that the team is saying that the arena is nearing the end of its initial 25-year lifespan. What was once considered a state-of-the-art place to watch hockey is starting to show its age and they want to modernize the building.
The initial plans involved opening up the arena to more sightlines which could lower the amount of luxury boxes in the building. The other listed goals in the renovation include:
- Upgrading security near northeast entrance and along north side
- Improving accessibility throughout arena
- Expanding the north wall outward along 5th Street
- Updating restroom plumbing
What happens if they don’t get the money?
The good news is that Minnesota has absolutely zero history in terms of bad things happening when an owner of a hockey team doesn’t get funding for building a new arena. Zero. Zilch. Everything is great.
Honestly, it’s unlikely that this current funding stalemate will lead to the Minnesota Wild abandoning the State of Hockey. First off, Leopold doesn’t seem to be as bad at owning a team as Norm Green was. Second, they still have 10 years left on the lease at Grand Casino Arena.
It is likely that at some point, either the renovation will be scaled back slightly, or one of the two sides (or both) will pony up the money that the state hasn’t allocated yet. The arena is vital to the St. Paul area and if the team was to abandon it for either Minneapolis or Bloomington (two locations that have been rumored) would deal a huge blow to the surrounding area.
When the team and the city announced the downsized request, it was interesting that they took a small shot at previous state legislatures when they noted,
“The Twin Cities has world-class athletic complexes, however, Saint Paul has historically received less state support [for] these projects.”
The money at some point will eventually show up from someone. The Wild want to play in their own building so, absconding to Minneapolis to play at the Target Center or wherever the new Timberwolves owners build a new arena isn’t ideal. Building an entirely new arena doesn’t make much sense either. Even if the days of 100% tax-payer funded sports palaces are in the past, state governments still kick in a decent amount of money, and any contributions to a new build would likely be more than the $50 million the Wild are asking for in regards to renovations.
Hopefully there is resolution to the issue sooner rather than later and the team can start on their renovations before the stadium gets too outdated. Despite its relative age, it is still one of the best viewing experiences in the NHL. With the right upgrades, there is no reason it couldn’t keep fans happy for another 25 years.