Minnesota Wild owner expands Xcel Energy Center renovation plan to include hotel

Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold is expanding his plans for renovating the Xcel Energy Center to include the construction of a 650-room convention center hotel.

Leipold offered new details on the project while meeting with media members before the team’s preseason game Tuesday night. He and city officials have been angling for state assistance for the project since late last year, but the project has not proceeded.

It originally included plans to renovate the adjacent RiverCentre, a parking ramp and a bridge along Kellogg Boulevard. It was previously estimated to cost around $250 million to $300 million.

The price tag will rise now, Leipold said, but he did not specify how much. A 650-room hotel would surpass in size the 410-room InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront hotel that is already downtown.

“The whole project is so great for downtown St. Paul, and it’s not just the arena,” Leipold said. “It’s a lot of stuff, so we think it’s great for downtown. It’s good for our fans, good for our market and we’re pushing hard this year.”

Leipold said the Wild would perhaps contribute up to $250 million in financing and would seek further assistance from the state. But he said it’s unclear what the chances are to receive that support, given the November elections.

Gov. Tim Walz’s office said it had not received details of the latest proposal.

“We’re trying to sell the Legislature and the governor,” Leipold said. “The problem is, nobody knows who’s going to be running the Legislature, Republicans or Democrats. We don’t know who the governor’s going to be. We’re kind of in a tough spot right now. But ultimately, we need to get the renovations and the upgrades in this arena.”

State Sen. Sandra Pappas, who expressed skepticism about the project receiving state assistance last December, was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

“We’re incredibly fortunate to have Mr. Leipold’s commitment to future economic development, contingent on the needed renovations to our 25-year-old arena,” St. Paul Deputy Mayor Jaime Tincher said in a statement. “Our hope is that this project will serve as a catalyst for additional growth.”

Leipold said the renovations to the arena, which is city-owned and hosts concerts and other events year-round, are urgently needed. Its construction was completed in 2000.