The Wild will open a "year-round, rooftop practice facility" on top of a former Macy’s building in downtown St. Paul by the fall of '17, according to a front-page piece by Frederick Melo of the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. The St. Paul Port Authority has partnered with Minneapolis-based Hempel Cos. to "convert the vacant department store into a new retail and office hub." Hempel and Port Authority officials said that their joint venture -- Go Wild LLC -- had "finalized a long-awaited lease with the professional hockey team for practice space." The enclosed rink will meet NHL standards and also "will be open to figure skaters, area teams and the public at large for ice rental." The Wild have been "competing for ice time at the downtown Xcel Energy Center/RiverCentre with concerts and traveling performances, leading to discussions over the years about moving their practices elsewhere in St. Paul or the west metro." Wabasha Center, as the "converted Macy’s building will be called unless it sells naming rights, is still seeking additional tenants." The Wild "will occupy 65,000 square feet of rink space, locker rooms and a training facility two levels below street grade, leaving 120,000 square feet of space open to retail and office tenants" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 12/23). In Minneapolis, Nick Halter reported the lease will be for 15 years and a company "affiliated with the Wild will manage the rink" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/22).
