Article: The Minnesota Wild Face An Arena Funding Challenge

[Cray McCally]

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[Sam]

Hmmm… sure sounds like Grand Casino’s problem.

[Scalptrash]

Not surprising at all in this state. Priorities.

[Dis-allowed display name]

The plans call for MOSTLY improvements for revenue to the team (which adds to the value of the team for the owner, and slightly more bathrooms.  I don't see any reason that this is a "need" rather than a want. 

 

If the state throws in $50 million, I am not going to cry because they have lost 20 times that to fraud and don't seem to care, but let's call it what it is, a request for public money to benefit the owner with little adding to fan experience.

 

I also think you should establish a winning franchise before you ask for more cash.

Edited October 10 by Dis-allowed display name

[MrCheatachu]

I'm a big fan of the Wild, I'm a big fan of St. Paul.

Hell, I'm even a big fan of using public money to support public infrastructure.

If we're going to expect to use public money for funding this private area while waiving our hands that it 'increases taxes' I'd like to see a non-partisan analysis of that.  

Using public money to remodel their bathrooms doesn't seem like it's going to impact the number of visitors.  Let me know when the first big touring act decides to pass up St. Paul because 'well the bathrooms seemed a little outdated' and then we can talk about how much tax revenue was missed out on.

[FredJohnson]

[AKwildkraken]

Maybe Kaprizov will chip in?

[TCMooch]

If we are using tax payer money to fund stadiums then all games should be televised to state residents free of charge. Until that happens, all these publicly funded stadiums can fuck right off.

Threaten to leave the state--I don't give a shit. People are worried about putting fucking food on the table right now or having a roof over their head with inflation.

[1Brotherbill]

I would one hundred percent be in on any money given to the renovate the stadium if two things are addressed.  

One the Rivercenter Parking ramp needs to be addressed.  That ramp is going to collapse one day and it will make national news if not international news.  When you have combat netting strung on the ceiling to prevent concrete from falling on people, you might have a problem.  This is a safety issue that needs to be addressed with or without the Wild being involved.

Two address the walkway on the Kellog Boulevard side of the arena.  We all know the area.  By the escalators where the walkway goes from fifty feet wide to like 10 feet wide.  Add in "Barb the Usher" yelling at people to keep it moving and it becomes a stressful time.  The person that designed that for the stadium should really consider a different job path. 

These two things need to be addressed and I would be ok with the funding. 

 

[mnfaninnc]

As most know, I'm an out-of-towner. I don't really have a grasp on the downtown area as it stands. I really don't have much of a dog in the fight. 

But with it, I'd like to ask how the X is set up....or GCA? Is it city owned, or is OCL the owner? In Charlotte, all but our football stadium is city owned, but Jerry Richardson made sure that the Panthers owned the football stadium so it wouldn't cost the taxpayers money. He then sold PSLs to the fans. With owning the stadium is took out the threat of moving. He then sold the team.

David Tepper bought the club, yet he has asked our city to pay over $300m for upgrades on a $600+m project for the area. It's about a 50/50 deal, but a lot of the development has to do with land around the stadium that, quite frankly, is in disrepair. That part is not owned by Tepper or the team and could use some investment, but I also don't like the idea of the city raising sales taxes or property taxes to do it.

If GCA is city owned property, typically, the Landlord makes improvements over time. These things may be needed as the infrastructure even in the building may be worn out. By the proposal listed above, it appears as if OCL is ready to do something close to a 50/50 split, maybe closer to 49/51. 

So, what else does GCA have in their venue? How much use outside of the Wild or hockey does it have? And, what is going on in the area? Is it reasonable to assume some other businesses might see this as a smart investment, or piggyback off of this project? Does the area need improvement? These questions I can't answer since my last game in person was probably around 2014. At the time I went, I did think the area needed some improvement, or was in the middle of getting it. 

In our area, we have revaluations now every 4 years. The promise with the county and city was that they would make the transition year a "revenue neutral" year, so that people could get their property revaluations, but not get shocked with a bill 6 months later that was 50% higher. This "promise" was broken the last go around, as the city claimed it "needed" about a 6% increase and the county took another 10% of "needed" increase. All around our county, property taxes increased between 30-50%, with none of these guys being held accountable for breaking their promises. Local news outlets didn't want to touch the story. 

The county in this same year told us that "they made the tough choices" to fund their pet projects, every single one of them. Let me be clear, it is not a tough choice to spend money and then grab it out of everyone else's pockets. The tough choice is to say no, or not at this time. 

This may sound kind of wishy washy as I can see both sides of this issue. Both have some valid claims, but if things are as bad as Mooch is saying above, well, maybe these elected officials should start listening. And what about the fraud that Disallowed is writing about? It seems to me that if they've had all this fraud, they are the ones who will have to do without. Bitching about it on a blog isn't going to do anything about it, but for each one of us who live in this country, we have a lot to think about when we pull the curtain and start punching the buttons. Have we really been well represented? 

Many of you may have heard in this city we had a stabbing on our light rail system in August. It has made national news. But, what many may not have heard is that we also have a vote for a 1% transit sales tax increase in November that is supposed to go towards roads, buses and trains (and bike paths). Roads on this list will be the least priority. Why do I mention this? Because the city did not want to let the security footage out to the public because it might jeopardize how they felt about funding the public transportation. This is how it suddenly became national news. 

I love the idea of revitalizing the areas around the stadiums and arenas. Minnesota has also been in the news a lot for all the wrong reasons. Perhaps public security might be a higher priority here. Should these projects be funded, I know I don't want to hear anyone saying, I'm sorry, we don't have money to keep the public safe. Both causes are worthy, it's just that one is more worthy than the other.

[Burnt Toast]

On 10/10/2025 at 4:32 PM, TCMooch said:

all games should be televised to state residents free of charge

I’m a fan out of state a lot of the year. Let’s make it the complete Midwest including Southern Missouri plz. Heck just make it streamed free. This is OUR ice!! 

[Dango]

The Vikings used to have blackouts and you had to drive to St Cloud if you wanted to watch it on tv then 1 guy came onto the team "no longer on the team " and there hasnt been a blackout since .  Maybe the Wild could do something similar as theres nothing on tv that i watch except maybe parts of football games  .   

[greg]

Wild need to be mre readily available to more people via TV.  I was able to watch the Twins everyday through Twins.tv after their cable deal ends they need to look at this.  50 million to invest in the Wild arena is not unreasonable.  The Wild do not own the building.  I believe the city of st paul or a sports authority within the city of st paul owns it.  As for me I can't afford to go to Wild games anymore.  It's too rich for my money.  I used to go fairly regularly but not anymore.  So yes give them the 50 million and tell them to work on a better TV deal..

[Dis-allowed display name]

On 10/10/2025 at 8:55 PM, mnfaninnc said:

As most know, I'm an out-of-towner. I don't really have a grasp on the downtown area as it stands. I really don't have much of a dog in the fight. 

But with it, I'd like to ask how the X is set up....or GCA? Is it city owned, or is OCL the owner?

The construction of the stadium was funded in the 1998 bonding bill at the legislature and I worked on it at the time.  The agreement was that the city would get a loan, the number escapes me but I think it was in the $60-80 million range, and would have to pay it off over time.  I think some of that might have been forgiven in later legislative sessions but I moved on to other employment.  The part I don't remember is if the city gets any money from Roy Wilkins or if that goes to the team. 

The agreement said that the city would own the arena but the team would get all of the revenues and pay for operations.  I believe that included concerts as the team would act as the operator of the facility but get whatever the arena share was, the rest going to the performer.  So the city owns, but pays nothing to operate and gets no revenue.  That was the agreement at the time, not sure if any changes were made to the agreement since then.

Edited October 13 by Dis-allowed display name

[Pewterschmidt]

On 10/11/2025 at 6:36 PM, Dango said:

The Vikings used to have blackouts and you had to drive to St Cloud if you wanted to watch it on tv then 1 guy came onto the team "no longer on the team " and there hasnt been a blackout since .  Maybe the Wild could do something similar as theres nothing on tv that i watch except maybe parts of football games  .   

This is cryptic Dango. Share more detail on the parts you can safely share

[Dango]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

This is cryptic Dango. Share more detail on the parts you can safely share

The Vikings werent selling out or didnt reach the threshold for broadcasting the home games so if you wanted to watch it you had to go like 50 miles   "not sure the exact number" but St Cloud was where we went to watch it ,  but ever since Moss came along theres been no blackouts .  I could see maybe the wild doing that same thing  if it reaches a certain ticket sale air it  if not dont i suppose 

[mnfaninnc]

16 hours ago, Dis-allowed display name said:

The agreement said that the city would own the arena but the team would get all of the revenues and pay for operations.  I believe that included concerts as the team would act as the operator of the facility but get whatever the arena share was, the rest going to the performer.

To me, it seems odd that a concert series during the summer would go to the Wild and that they would be in charge of the operations, but maybe that's just a difference in the area? When I worked at our arenas in Charlotte, there was a contract company who did all the operations, but concessions revenue went through them. I don't believe it was the team that actually got a slice of the revenue, I think it was the city, but I could be mistaken. 

For Charlotte's stadium, they do have other events, and I think those go about like you said except for the team owns the stadium. I believe they use the same operations contractor, but they've been separate and I'm not sure. If the city owns the building, I would think they would somehow have to get a cut of the revenue somewhere in the chain to help pay for the stadium/arena. 

You actually working on the deal is a great resource, and a perspective which I highly value. Was this a unique deal for St. Paul, or are the deals similar with the other sports teams in the area? 

Generally, the Wild have to clear out of town when the State High School Hockey tournament happens. Would the team also enjoy the revenue from that event? I would assume they get some from a Frost game? I'd have a hard time believing that the Wild get revenue from a Monster Truck event? 

I do think that one reason that the city actually owns the building is due to the remodeling costs. OCL could then pretty much count on at least a 55/45 split in any need for large remodeling. And, if some of the infrastructure has to be replaced, like say the pipes under the ice, I could see that being a great time to do cosmetic remodeling too.

[mnfaninnc]

19 hours ago, greg said:

Wild need to be mre readily available to more people via TV.  I was able to watch the Twins everyday through Twins.tv after their cable deal ends they need to look at this.  50 million to invest in the Wild arena is not unreasonable.  The Wild do not own the building.  I believe the city of st paul or a sports authority within the city of st paul owns it.  As for me I can't afford to go to Wild games anymore.  It's too rich for my money.  I used to go fairly regularly but not anymore.  So yes give them the 50 million and tell them to work on a better TV deal..

I think the $50m was from the state, but the city was kicking in $235m. 

[mnfaninnc]

12 hours ago, Dango said:

The Vikings werent selling out or didnt reach the threshold for broadcasting the home games so if you wanted to watch it you had to go like 50 miles   "not sure the exact number" but St Cloud was where we went to watch it ,  but ever since Moss came along theres been no blackouts .  I could see maybe the wild doing that same thing  if it reaches a certain ticket sale air it  if not dont i suppose

I think with the new tv deals, some of this blackout nonsense has been altered. For instance, the stadium had to sell out or the game would be blacked out at home. Growing up, I often remember that threat, and one of the local businesses bought the remaining home tickets so it could be televised. The Vikings at home would be the only game televised in that time slot.

Yesterday, the Panthers had a home game. Typically, that would be the only game televised and I'm doubtful that it was sold out. However, it should have been the only game on, yet I also had the choice of Cleveland @ Pittsburgh to watch, the 1st time that has happened all year. And, on top of that, CBS will sometimes show all NFC games when they have the double header. 

I'm so confused over who gets to show what, and that's even before the later season time shifts for potential playoff teams.