Raised by his grandparents, Virgil Wind recalled childhood nights when their car would find the one blinking red light at the edge of a dusty rural road, the only visible marker under the moonlight indicating it was time to turn toward the Mille Lacs Reservation, the high-poverty community they called home.
Fast forward 40 years, and Wind — the elected chief of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe — said his tribe made gradual economic inroads through key investments, not the least of which are two destination gambling hubs — Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley — as well as two downtown St. Paul hotels. Even the brewpub at St. Paul’s Allianz Field soccer stadium bears the Grand Casino name.
For sports fans, the tribe’s latest investment may be the most eyebrow-raising. The downtown Xcel Energy Center — the longtime home of the Minnesota Wild and the new Minnesota Frost — is officially no more. On Wednesday, standing side by side with Wild owner Craig Leipold and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter at the arena’s club-level Flynt & Kindle Restaurant, Wind helped usher in a new name and a new era for the city’s celebrated hockey and concert arena: the Grand Casino Arena.
While it may take a while for the Xcel name to work its way out of the collective consciousness, someday soon “the youth will be like, ‘What X? What are you talking about?’” quipped Wind, talking to reporters after the event.
‘A long process’
Purchasing the naming rights for the 25-year-old, 18,000-seat arena involved months of discussion within the tribe, as well as negotiations with the team.
“It was tough,” Wind said. “It was a long process to get here. (But) what really ends up happening is meant to happen.”
The 14-year agreement includes the possibility of a six-year extension, said Wind, who declined to describe the total dollar amount involved, except to confirm it was a “multi-million dollar” deal.
“Revenues from our businesses fund healthcare, housing, education, cultural and language preservation,” Wind told the crowd. “This is a business investment … aimed at elevating the Grand Casino brand, aimed at deepening our visibility, aimed at expanding opportunities for all of us.”
“But beyond the business value, this is also a chance to tell our story,” he added. “Inside the arena, visitors will have an opportunity to learn about who we are — the non-removable Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. They will learn about our history. They will learn … about our resilience, and they will also learn about our connection to the land.”
Wild efforts to remodel arena rebuffed — would they move?
To that end, Wind said, an educational display will be installed by Gate 1.
Kelly McGrath, general manager and executive director of the Grand Casino Arena, said she had ordered 1,800 end plaques for the seating aisles, all emblazoned with the name “Grand Casino.” Carter, who called the arena essential to downtown’s future, read a proclamation declaring Wednesday “Grand Casino Arena Day” in the city of St. Paul.
To celebrate the new naming rights arrangement, Wind presented Leipold with an elaborate star quilt embroidered in the traditional style of the Ojibwe but with Minnesota Wild colors and patterns, drawing some “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd. Leipold said more than 34 million fans have come to the former Xcel Energy Center since it opened in 2000, and he looked forward to the years ahead.
The Wild worked closely with the city in the past two legislative sessions to convince state lawmakers to cover half the project costs of what was then pitched as a $769 million remodel of the arena and the adjoining RiverCentre Convention Center and Roy Wilkins Auditorium, without success.
With hopes fading, the team rejiggered its proposal mid-stream last May, reducing it to a $488 million project, with $50 million to be provided by state bond funds. When the legislative session rolled to a close, they were again shut out.
On Wednesday, Leipold told reporters he had no plans to sell the team, which now employs one of his sons in a management-training role, and he planned to continue to ask lawmakers for remodeling assistance. “We have scaled it back,” Leipold said. “We feel like the changes we’ve made are good changes. The number we’re looking for from the state is $100 million, which is still a lot of money.”
Asked about rumors that the team was being courted by developers to move to Bloomington or another city, Leipold said his focus remains St. Paul. But if the team’s efforts to get an arena remodel funded continue to fall through at the state Capitol?
“That’s an interesting question,” Leipold responded. “I’m a St. Paul person, I really am. But I also know we can’t survive long-term in this arena. We will look at all the options if the time is ever right. It’s not right now. We aren’t spending any time right now looking at other sites outside St. Paul.”
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