Wild Ask Minnesota for $395 Million Toward Arena Upgrades

The Minnesota Wild are asking the state for help with a proposed arena upgrade. 

State legislators are expected to consider a $769 million renovation plan Thursday to Xcel Center, where the Wild play, as well as neighboring Roy Wilkins Auditorium and St. Paul RiverCentre, which are used for concerts and conventions. The city owns the arena, which is operated by the Wild’s parent company, Minnesota Sports & Entertainment. The plan is to turn the area into an entertainment district. If approved, construction could start as soon as 2026. 

The current proposal has the Wild paying nearly $126 million with the city of Saint Paul, which owns all three buildings, covering roughly $159 million, in the form of bonds that would be repaid with an existing half-cent sales tax. The remaining $395 million would be the state’s problem. 

Saint Paul mayor Melvin Carter plans to be part of the sales pitch in what is a major ask for taxpayers. 

The Xcel Center opened in 2000 and was last upgraded in 2014. The city still owes $37 million of its original $170 million contribution for its construction, which was refinanced in 2019, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune. 

But the ask comes at a time when the state’s budget is tightening.

The team and city claim the upgrades would bring the surrounding area $100 million per year. It would be done in phases to keep the arena open throughout the upgrades. 

Team owner Craig Leipold described the arena’s late ’90s makeup as “pre-COVID, pre-9/11.”

If the state agrees, it wouldn’t be the first time it helped a team pay for a new stadium. Minnesota contributed to the arena costs of both Target Field and U.S. Bank Stadium, which opened in 2010 and 2016, respectively.

Minnesota was previously home to the NHL’s North Stars from 1967 to 1993, when they relocated to Texas and became the Dallas Stars after failing to secure money to improve the Met Center. The Wild were an expansion team that started play in 2000 and have played at the Xcel Center ever since.