{"id":202139,"date":"2025-09-05T11:11:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T11:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/202139\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T11:11:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T11:11:19","slug":"st-pauls-xcel-energy-center-is-now-grand-casino-arena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/202139\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Paul&#8217;s Xcel Energy Center is now Grand Casino Arena"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"mng-gallery-initialized mng-gallery-slider\">\n<li data-index=\"1\" class=\"mng-ge mng-gallery-active\" id=\"mng-ge-0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\"><img alt=\"A view of the Minnesota Wild's home ice at the Grand Casino Arena.\" class=\"size-article_inline\"  \/>\n<p>The new logo and the scoreboard at the renamed Grand Casino Arena, formerly Xcel Energy Center, are unveiled in St. Paul on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"2\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold, left, shakes hands with Virgil Wind, the chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/STP-L-ARENA-0904-02.jpg\" \/>\n<p>Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold, left, shakes hands with Virgil Wind, the chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, after being presented with a Minnesota Wild- themed blanket during a event celebrating the sponsorship and name change of the former Xcel Energy Center to Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"3\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Minnesota Wild's home ice at the Grand Casino Arena.\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/STP-L-ARENA-0904-01.jpg\" \/>\n<p>Skaters take to the ice for the official opening of Grand Casino Arena, formerly Xcel Energy Center, in St. Paul on  Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"4\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Virgil Wind, the chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, right, looks over a Minnesota Wild jersey presented to him by Wild owner Craig Leipold.\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/STP-L-ARENA-0904-04.jpg\" \/>\n<p>Virgil Wind, the chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, right, looks over a Minnesota Wild jersey presented to him by Wild owner Craig Leipold, during a event celebrating the sponsorship and name change of the former Xcel Energy Center to Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"5\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Virgil Wind, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, right, and representatives of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe present Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold, center, with a Minnesota Wild-themed blanket.\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/STP-L-ARENA-0904-06.jpg\" \/>\n<p>Virgil Wind, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, right, and representatives of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe present Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold, center, with a Minnesota Wild-themed blanket at an event celebrating the sponsorship and name change of the former Xcel Energy Center to Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"6\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Virgil Wind, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/STP-L-ARENA-0904-08.jpg\" \/>\n<p>Virgil Wind, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, speaks during a event celebrating the sponsorship and name change of the former Xcel Energy Center to Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"7\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-6\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A portrait of Craig Leipold, owner of the Minnesota Wild.\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/STP-L-ARENA-0904-07.jpg\" \/>\n<p>Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold speaks during a event celebrating the sponsorship and name change of the former Xcel Energy Center to Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"8\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-7\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Xcel Energy Center logo has come down, soon to be replaced with Grand Casino Arena logo, in downtown St. Paul.\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/STP-L-ARENA-0904-05.jpg\" \/>\n<p>The Xcel Energy Center logo has come down, soon to be replaced with Grand Casino Arena logo, in St. Paul on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 8<\/p>\n<p>The new logo and the scoreboard at the renamed Grand Casino Arena, formerly Xcel Energy Center, are unveiled in St. Paul on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Raised by his grandparents, Virgil Wind recalled childhood nights when their car would find the one blinking red light at the edge of a dusty rural road, the only visible marker under the moonlight indicating it was time to turn toward the Mille Lacs Reservation, the high-poverty community they called home.<\/p>\n<p>Fast forward 40 years, and Wind \u2014 the elected chief of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe \u2014 said his tribe made gradual economic inroads through key investments, not the least of which are two destination gambling hubs \u2014 Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley \u2014 as well as two downtown St. Paul hotels. Even the brewpub at St. Paul\u2019s Allianz Field soccer stadium bears the Grand Casino name.<\/p>\n<p>For sports fans, the tribe\u2019s latest investment <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/2025\/06\/30\/xcel-energy-center-to-become-grand-casino-arena\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">may be the most eyebrow-raising<\/a>. The downtown St. Paul Xcel Energy Center \u2014 the longtime home of the Minnesota Wild and the Minnesota Frost \u2014 is officially no more. On Wednesday, standing side by side with <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FrederickMelo\/status\/1963276487437451467\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Wild owner Craig Leipold<\/a> and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter at the arena\u2019s club-level Flynt &amp; Kindle Restaurant, Wind helped usher in <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FrederickMelo\/status\/1963281877911109938\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">a new name and a new era<\/a> for the city\u2019s celebrated hockey and concert arena: the Grand Casino Arena.<\/p>\n<p>While it may take a while for the Xcel name to work its way out of the collective consciousness, someday soon \u201cthe youth will be like, \u2018What X? What are you talking about?&#8217;\u201d quipped Wind, talking to reporters after the event.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018A long process\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Purchasing the naming rights for the 25-year-old, 18,000-seat arena involved months of discussion within the tribe, as well as negotiations with the team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was tough,\u201d Wind said. \u201cIt was a long process to get here. (But) what really ends up happening is meant to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 14-year agreement includes the possibility of a six-year extension, said Wind, who declined to describe the total dollar amount involved, except to confirm it was a \u201cmultimillion-dollar\u201d deal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRevenues from our businesses fund health care, housing, education, cultural and language preservation,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FrederickMelo\/status\/1963276487437451467\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Wind told the crowd<\/a>. \u201cThis is a business investment \u2026 aimed at elevating the Grand Casino brand, aimed at deepening our visibility, aimed at expanding opportunities for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut beyond the business value, this is also a chance to tell our story,\u201d he added. \u201cInside the arena, visitors will have an opportunity to learn about who we are \u2014 the non-removable Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. They will learn about our history. They will learn \u2026 about our resilience, and they will also learn about our connection to the land.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wild efforts to remodel arena rebuffed \u2014 would they move?<\/p>\n<p>To that end, Wind said, an educational display will be installed by Gate 1.<\/p>\n<p>Kelly McGrath, general manager and executive director of the Grand Casino Arena, said she had ordered 1,800 end plaques for the seating aisles, all emblazoned with the name \u201cGrand Casino.\u201d Carter, who called the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FrederickMelo\/status\/1963278341269840219\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">arena essential to downtown\u2019s future<\/a>, read a proclamation declaring Wednesday \u201cGrand Casino Arena Day\u201d in the city of St. Paul.<\/p>\n<p>To celebrate the new naming rights arrangement, Wind presented Leipold with an elaborate star quilt embroidered in the traditional style of the Ojibwe but with Minnesota Wild colors and patterns, drawing some \u201coohs\u201d and \u201caahs\u201d from the crowd. Leipold said more than 34 million fans have come to the former Xcel Energy Center since it opened in 2000, and he looked forward to the years ahead.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/2025\/09\/04\/wild-owner-prepared-to-give-kirill-kaprizov-a-record-nhl-deal\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wild owner prepared to give Kirill Kaprizov a record NHL deal<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Wild worked closely with the city in the past two legislative sessions to convince state lawmakers to cover half the project costs of what was then pitched as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/2025\/03\/19\/st-paul-xcel-center-renovation-funding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">a $769 million remodel of the arena<\/a> and the adjoining RiverCentre Convention Center and Roy Wilkins Auditorium, without success.<\/p>\n<p>With hopes fading, the team rejiggered its proposal mid-stream last May, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/2025\/05\/01\/st-paul-mn-wild-trim-xcel-centers-state-request-from-400m-to-50m\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">reducing it to a $488 million project<\/a>, with $50 million to be provided by state bond funds. When the legislative session rolled to a close, they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/2025\/06\/11\/mn-legislature-xcel-energy-center-shut-out-of-bond-funding-for-renovations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">were again shut out<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Leipold told reporters he had no plans to sell the team, which now employs one of his sons in a management-training role, and he planned to continue to ask lawmakers for remodeling assistance. \u201cWe have scaled it back,\u201d Leipold said. \u201cWe feel like the changes we\u2019ve made are good changes. The number we\u2019re looking for from the state is $100 million, which is still a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked about rumors that the team was being courted by developers to move to Bloomington or another city, Leipold said his focus remains St. Paul. But if the team\u2019s efforts to get an arena remodel funded continue to fall through at the state Capitol?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s an interesting question,\u201d Leipold responded. \u201cI\u2019m a St. Paul person, I really am. But I also know we can\u2019t survive long-term in this arena. We will look at all the options if the time is ever right. It\u2019s not right now. We aren\u2019t spending any time right now looking at other sites outside St. Paul.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Originally Published: September 3, 2025 at 4:57 PM CDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The new logo and the scoreboard at the renamed Grand Casino Arena, formerly Xcel Energy Center, are unveiled&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":202140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[728,293,62,17636,67,132,68,9272,111690],"class_list":{"0":"post-202139","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-local-news","9":"tag-nhl","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-st-paul","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-wild","16":"tag-xcel-energy-center"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115151391120804832","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}