After a less-than enthusiastic response from the state legislature, the City of St. Paul and the Minnesota Wild have amended their request for funding renovations to the 25-year old Xcel Energy Center and surrounding venues.
In their latest proposal, the city and the Wild franchise are asking the state to pitch in $50 million, a fraction of their original request. The original proposal was a $769 million project. The Rivercentre and Roy Wilkins portion - originally included in their plans to update - is being put on hold for now.
"We're not scaling back on the design or the benefits of what we're doing in our arena," Wild owner Craig Leipold tells WCCO's Laura Oakes. "So, as you're likely aware, our original request included money for the 80-year old auditorium, the Roy Wilkins, also to enhance and make a little bit larger convention center. We've moved that off and we're gonna be coming back to the legislature down the road in other years. So we're now concentrating only on the arena and that's our priority."
The $50 million from the state would now go toward helping to fund a slimmed down $488 million project, with $200 million coming from the city and local partners, while the hockey club would front the rest plus any cost overruns for the rest of the renovation.
“We recognize the serious financial decisions ahead of our lawmakers, which is why it’s important to make strategic and timely investments that move our state forward,” said Mayor Carter. “Renovating the Xcel Energy Center protects one of our most valuable assets, all while setting Saint Paul and our region up for job creation, revitalization, and economic growth.”
The renovations would include expanding the facility's north wall along Fifth Street for added security, updated plumbing, and widening the arena corridors. Leipold says the "bones" of the arena are fine, but they want to remodel the entire interior.
Legislators must craft a new state budget within the next 19 days and it's unknown if this latest request will make the cut.
The proposed renovations of the arena will also come with a new name soon. Xcel Energy and the Wild announced the naming rights deal for the arena are coming to an end this summer and a new partner for naming rights will be announced prior to the next hockey season in the fall.
"We're excited for our fans, we're excited for downtown St. Paul, and we think now is the time to get this project passed," Leipold explained, noting the longer they wait, the more expensive the project will become.