Say goodbye to the “X” in the Xcel Energy Center. In downtown St. Paul, a new 14-year naming rights agreement with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe will refashion the home of the Minnesota Wild as the Grand Casino Arena, a major nod to Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley.

No, legalized gambling isn’t coming to downtown St. Paul, but fans can still expect “digital activations” and “in-arena surprises,” said Jeff LaFrance, head of marketing for Grand Casino, in a written statement.

The tribe also will now have a front-row seat — if not a starring role — in the evolution of downtown St. Paul, where Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures already owns two hotels — the InterContinental St. Paul Riverfront and the DoubleTree by Hilton.

“The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe have a rich cultural history and a story to tell,” said Matt Majka, chief executive officer of the Minnesota Wild, in a phone interview Monday. “And there’s much more to that than gambling.”

Switchover to begin Sept. 3

The switchover — including all new exterior and interior signage and the center ice insignia — will begin by Sept. 3, and fall into place by the time the Wild return for their next regular season in October. It marks the end of an era that began 25 years ago when the “X” opened its doors with Minneapolis-based utility Xcel Energy as its inaugural, and lasting, naming rights sponsor. The price tag at the time was $3 million per year.Those costs have likely more than doubled, if not quadrupled.

Majka declined to discuss financial terms of the new naming rights agreement, except to say “it is multi-million dollars per year.” Those revenues will flow to the team, which manages the X, as opposed to the city of St. Paul, which owns the X. The team’s lease at the future Grand Casino Arena expires in 2035; the Grand Casino naming rights expire in 2039.

“Grand Casino Arena will serve as the anchor of a dynamic entertainment district that transforms downtown St. Paul,” said Craig Leipold, majority owner and principal investor in Minnesota Sports and Entertainment, owner of the Wild, in a written statement. “The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe has been a strong supporter of and investor in this city. We are thrilled for their partnership and support of the arena.”

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said he welcomed the tribe’s growing investments in downtown St. Paul — “we’ll take as much of it as we can get” — but he had no prior knowledge of the name change. “It’s something we’re finding out alongside everybody else,” said Carter, by phone on Monday afternoon. “We’re not a part of the naming process. That’s how it’s always been.”

‘More than a name change’

Ronda Weizenegger, chief executive officer of Grand Casino, thanked Ted Johnson of Norden Strategies, a former chief marketing officer for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx, for helping cement the naming rights agreement.

Despite owning four hotels — including an Embassy Suites Will Rogers Airport Hotel in Oklahoma City — Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures is primarily known for its two casino-driven resort destinations.

It also maintains business initiatives within the three districts of the Mille Lacs Band Reservation, where it owns food franchises, a cinema, a grocery store and the Hinckley Medical Office Building, among other real estate.

Rebranding the home of the Wild is “more than a name change — it’s a signal of where we’re headed as a business,” said Weizenegger, who called the deal “a launch-point to build partnerships with regional and national brands …. It really puts all tribes on the map. It’s really a step forward for all tribes in the state of Minnesota.”

The Wild worked with OVG Global Partnerships as consultants on the agreement.

‘Huge and loyal fan base’

The new name drew a range of reaction on social media, where some Wild fans said they would never give up old habits.

“I will call it the X until I die,” said a fan on the platform X, which is still heavily referred to as Twitter. Another sports fan criticized, “calling a place after another place. I thought this when the old Metrodome was called Mall of America Field. Plus, out of towners are going to be real disappointed that there won’t be an actual casino inside the arena.”

Quipped a user on the platform Bluesky, “Gimme a portable roulette wheel in between penalties.”

Others questioned the ethics of putting a casino — even in name only — front and center on a venue that caters to state high school sports tournaments.

The St. Paul mayor downplayed that issue.

“I think our kids know there are casinos out there,” said Carter. “We’ve been committed to investing in our young people. … I think we’ll be fine.”

The X, which seats about 18,000 fans, hosts more than 150 events and 1.7 million visitors annually, including fans of the Wild and the Minnesota Frost, as well as attendees at concerts, performances and athletic tournaments. Minnesota is known as the “State of Hockey” because of its abiding love of the game and its affection for the Wild, who skated into the capital city when the “X” opened in 2000 but have never won a Stanley Cup.

Their predecessors, the Minnesota North Stars, were founded in the 1960s but left for Dallas in 1993.

“That huge and loyal fan base always shows up every game, and that’s going to be a big draw to whomever (holds) the naming rights,” said Heather Kliebenstein, an intellectual property attorney with the Minneapolis firm Merchant & Gould, in an interview prior to Monday’s announcement.

“Why is this important? It’s increased brand visibility. It’s awareness. And it’s prestige,” she said. “It’s a big deal to have your name on a brand like this. It’s not about direct sales. Xcel Energy wasn’t selling energy to fans.”

Wild to stay at TRIA practice rink

The team announced in April that their 25-year naming rights agreement with Xcel Energy will come to a close this summer, and that other potential partners were in the wings.

Xcel Energy will continue to work with the Wild on youth sports sponsorships and other community investments, according to the utility.

Grand Casino isn’t the only casino resort destination with a connection to the Wild.

Majka said the team will continue, for now, to use the TRIA Rink atop Treasure Island Center in downtown St. Paul for practices, even though the naming rights for that building are held by the Prairie Island Indian Community, which runs the competing Treasure Island resort and casino in Welch, Minn. He declined to discuss whether that could change.

“At this time, that is the case,” he said.

Parking ramp

Also uncertain is the fate of the city’s aging parking ramp, located across Kellogg Boulevard from the X. Around January 2020, Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures was one of six developers who responded to the city’s request for proposals for the air rights above the ramp. Their renderings depicted a 500-room ballroom hotel and condominium housing with an event center, sports pub, live music, a dine-in movie theater and office amenities.

The city’s efforts to court developers were soon put on hold in the early days of the pandemic, and the city and Wild are now focusing their priorities on what could be a $488 million to $769 million remodel of the Xcel Center. That effort, too, appears up in the air. Despite repeated requests from the city, state lawmakers did not set any bonding dollars aside for the Xcel Center this past legislative session.

“The Wild and the city of St. Paul are partners in the arena complex renovation, which is the top priority right now,” Majka said. “From there, we are jointly exploring various opportunities for private development, but that will come at a later date. The priority is the renovation of the arena complex.”