MN-based Xcel Energy has secured naming rights to the
Wild's new $130M, 18,600-seat arena in downtown St. Paul in
a deal valued at around $3M per year over 25 years,
according to Curt Brown of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. A
formal announcement on the pact is expected at a news
conference this afternoon, although neither company
officials nor Wild execs would comment on the reports. The
revenue from the naming rights "would go directly" to the
Wild, "helping offset" the $3.5M in annual rent it will pay
at the publicly-funded arena. The "complicated" deal is
"believed" to include an advertising partnership,
electricity costs, luxury suites and tickets. The team
"hopes" fans will now refer to the facility as "The X."
Meanwhile, Brown notes the Xcel deal "wouldn't affect" the
ten-year, $2.25M naming rights deal struck last year between
the RiverCentre in St. Paul, which is also managed by Wild
holding company Minnesota Hockey Ventures, and Xcel
competitor Touchstone Energy (STAR TRIBUNE, 6/15). In St.
Paul, Charley Walters notes that the arena will officially
be called the Xcel Energy Center (PIONEER PRESS, 6/15).
