Xcel Energy Center to be renamed ahead of 2025-2026 NHL season
The Xcel Energy Center will officially be renamed after this summer, the Minnesota Wild announced on Tuesday.
Team officials say they expect to announce a new naming rights partner before the start of the 2025-2026 NHL season, which is scheduled to begin in October.
Xcel Energy's naming rights for the arena will expire this summer after 25 years, but the power company will remain a partner of the Wild.
"We are extremely thankful for our 25-year naming and team marketing rights partnership with Xcel Energy," Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold said. "Xcel Energy has been an incredible supporter of our team since our inaugural season, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with them on a number of unique community initiatives as part of our new, long-term partnership."
The Minnesota Wild Community Relations and Hockey Partnerships team and Xcel Energy will work together to expand access to ice hockey for children and families throughout the state.
The program called "Community Power Play" will provide grants to youth hockey organizations, focusing on financial assistance for young athletes who may face barriers to the sport, purchase of equipment and ice time and investments of local rinks and facilities open to all community members.
"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," Bob Frenzel, Xcel Energy chairman, president and CEO, said.
Xcel Energy will continue to have a presence in the arena and with the team online.
The soon-to-be-renamed arena could also undergo a physical transformation soon, as the Wild and City of St. Paul are asking for help from the Minnesota Legislature in paying for a $770 million renovation for the complex, including the RiverCentre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium.
