Against concerns from state lawmakers about the dwindling state budget surplus, the city of St. Paul and Minnesota Wild have retooled their planned renovation of the downtown Xcel Energy Center, chopping millions off the total price tag and their nine-figure legislative request.
The proposed $769 makeover of the Xcel Energy Center has been slimmed down to a $488 million upgrade, freezing improvements to the adjoining RiverCentre convention center complex and Roy Wilkins Auditorium until an unspecified later date. The request to also been dropped from nearly $400 million in state bond funds to a relatively tidy $50 million.
Of the trimmed price-tag, the city and “local partners” will provide $200 million, and the Minnesota Wild would provide $238 million, plus any cost overruns for the rest of the renovation, according to a statement released by St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s office on Thursday.
The revised project still includes the renovation of the entire Xcel Energy Center into a “modern, best-in-class facility,” according to the statement. The state’s contribution will help expand the north wall along Fifth Street to improve the northeast entrance security area, increase disability access, update restroom plumbing and reduce pedestrian congestion.
Carter said the slimmer plan still continues the city’s and team’s shared long-term strategy to revitalize the downtown entertainment district and improve player and customer experiences at the arena, while also respecting “the state’s current financial realities.”
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Seated shoulder to shoulder during legislative presentations in late March, Carter and Wild owner Craig Leipold made the case to key House and Senate infrastructure and capital investment committees that the fate of the X, downtown St. Paul and the city as a whole were all closely entwined.
“Xcel Energy Center is now at the edge of its intended life span,” said Leipold, addressing House lawmakers on March 20. “Over the last few years, we’ve visited arenas in downtowns across the country, and seen firsthand how similar investment can literally transform communities. … This is the vital economic engine driving St. Paul. It’s hard to imagine St. Paul without it.”
Key allies appeared unconvinced
Not all lawmakers appeared convinced. The request at the time — $394 million in state appropriations bonds — may raise the state’s debt service some $30 million or more annually, though key details such as the payback timeframe have yet to be introduced in a formal bill.
Sen. Sandy Pappas (Courtesy photo)
Key potential allies such as state Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, and state Rep. Maria Isa Perez-Vega, both of whom represent downtown St. Paul, questioned the timing, given that the state surplus is projected to dwindle into a shortfall by 2028-2029 and there’s talk of a recession.
State Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten, DFL-St. Paul, told members of the Senate Committee on Capital Investment in March she would introduce a bill on behalf of the city and the team, but that has yet to happen, and lawmakers have little more than two weeks left to produce the next two-year state budget.
House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and others have questioned criticized hefty public subsidies for stadiums leased by privately-owned sports teams, though some conservative lawmakers appeared more supportive in committee hearings.
The Xcel Energy Center, which opened in 2000, welcomed 1 million visitors to Wild and Frost hockey games, concerts, performances and other gathering in the first three months of this year alone. The arena complex draws more than 2.1 million visitors and $383 million in spending annually, according to the city.
The mayor’s office said the city is still committed to renovating the 27-year-old St. Paul RiverCentre and the 93-year-old Roy Wilkins Auditorium, and the city and Wild are likely to seek additional funding coming years. The city maintains project fact sheets at stpaul.gov/arena.
The “X” will soon lose its name as a 25-year-old naming rights agreement with Xcel Energy expires this summer. A new corporate naming rights sponsor is expected to be announced before the next hockey season.
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