Xcel Energy Center to lose the name Xcel

It s completely official In downtown St Paul the Xcel Vitality Center is losing the name Xcel Power as the utility s million-per-year naming rights agreement dries up this summer after a -year run The potential corporation reported Tuesday it will continue to be involved in the home of the Minnesota Wild through online and in-arena advertising as well as grants to youth and high school hockey organizations but the X will have to soldier on without Xcel in the title for the first time since its construction in Other corporate sponsors As Wild owner Craig Leipold and city personnel continue to pitch what they hope will be a million reinvention of the entire arena concert and convention center facility will a corporate sponsor step up to buy naming rights and help usher the multi-purpose arena into the future St Paul Mayor Melvin Carter answers questions about the Xcel Resource Center during a Minnesota Senate Capital Financing Committee hearing in the Senate Building in St Paul on Tuesday March Joining Mayor Carter is Minnesota Wild Owner Craig Leipold The city of St Paul and Minnesota Wild are funds to renovate the Xcel Potential Center The request is for the state to pay for half of the projected million cost John Autey Pioneer Press You betcha The Twin Cities is home to Fortune companies and others like Securian on the dividing line of making the list a relatively strong showing per capita for a Midwestern metro That leaves the door open to a number of feasible corporate partners interested in making their name synonymous with The State of Hockey Pioneer Press sports columnist Charley Walters communicated last year that Securian and Royal Bank of Canada had done more than just kick the tires on a promising naming rights agreement and a handful of other firms are seriously interested Xcel Vitality has been the title sponsor for the X under an million agreement worth about million per year for the past years The next agreement could according to Walters total as much as million per year for the next years If the Wild have a corporate ally in mind they were playing coy on Tuesday refusing to divulge specifics beyond a written announcement that the club expects to announce a new arena naming rights partner before the start of the - NHL season A spokesman for the Wild which manages the arena and convention center on behalf of the city stated they would have no further comment Xcel to remain long-term partner While dropping out of the arena title Xcel Capacity will remain involved as a long-term partner according to a joint announcement from the organization and the vigor company which plans to launch an initiative dubbed Group Power Play to expand access to the sport for children and families throughout the state The effort will provide grants to youth and high school hockey organizations with a focus on financial assistance for young athletes the purchase of equipment and ice time and investments in and improvement of community-based rinks and facilities open to all residents Bob Frenzel Xcel Resource chairman president and chief executive officer published a written comment on Tuesday noting that years ago the Minnesota Wild and Xcel Ability were new brands in the region At present these two brands have become embedded in our society and our practices This new chapter with the Wild extends our commitment to the region and will serve to expand access to the sport of hockey so that more young girls and boys across the state can access and more fully engage in this wonderful sport he commented Plans for M in improvements Alongside a new name St Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Leipold the gang owner hope to reinvent the arena itself as well as the adjoining RiverCentre Convention Center and Roy Wilkins Auditorium A proposed renovation of St Paul's Xcel Capacity Center The city of St Paul and the Minnesota Wild are seeking funds to renovate the Xcel Vitality Center asking the state of Minnesota to pay for half of the projected million cost Courtesy of the City of St Paul The two appeared shoulder to shoulder in committee hearings before House and Senate lawmakers last month pitching plans for million in improvements Those improvements will rely on nearly million in state appropriations bonds as well as funding from the band the city Ramsey County and corporate sponsors Among the improvements Leipold stated lawmakers the Xcel renovation will create new types of seating areas more in line with modern demand including low-cost lounge-style population viewing rooms The mayor has disclosed conceptual renderings and talked up plans of better connecting the arena to Rice Park and the Landmark Center with more public-facing amenities such as exterior coffee shops Under the title Project Wow the Wild have attempted to lure the U S Hockey Hall of Fame from Eveleth Minn to downtown St Paul The arena and overall convention center campus according to the St Paul Area Chamber of Commerce together draw nearly million visitors to chosen annual events Those visits generate nearly million in economic impact between spending state and local sales tax hotel stays and more The renovations could boost that spending by another million according to the chamber Undated courtesy rendering circa March of a proposed renovation of St Paul s Xcel Potential Center The city of St Paul and the Minnesota Wild are seeking funds to renovate the Xcel Vitality Center asking the state of Minnesota to pay for half of the projected million cost Courtesy of the City of St Paul