St. Paul city officials and the Minnesota Wild are scaling back plans to renovate the Xcel Energy Center complex with a new pitch for $50 million from the state, a fraction of their original request.
After legislators’ icy response to the March proposal of $769 million, half of which would have come from the state, the city and NHL team offered a $488 million alternative Thursday that focuses solely on the 25-year-old arena.
The previous plan included improvements to the adjacent Roy Wilkins Auditorium and St. Paul RiverCentre. The city, which owns all three facilities, would likely partner with the Wild to again seek funding for those upgrades in future years, according to a news release.
Under the new proposal, St. Paul and local partners would contribute $200 million, and the Wild would cover the rest of the costs. The state dollars would help the arena increase accessibility, reduce congestion, update restroom plumbing and improve security by expanding the north wall along Fifth Street.
The more modest request could still be a tough sell at the Capitol, where the Legislature is set to adjourn in less than three weeks. Several lawmakers in both chambers expressed concerns during initial presentations from Mayor Melvin Carter and Wild owner Craig Leipold, citing the state’s forecasted budget crunch, economic headwinds and uncertainty about federal funding.
“We recognize the serious financial decisions ahead of our lawmakers, which is why it’s important to make strategic and timely investments that move our state forward,” Carter said in a statement Thursday. “Renovating the Xcel Energy Center protects one of our most valuable assets, all while setting St. Paul and our region up for job creation, revitalization and economic growth.”
Downtown St. Paul’s elected officials, DFL Sen. Sandy Pappas and Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega, were among the most vocal skeptics earlier this spring, noting a number of competing asks for state money. Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten, DFL-St. Paul, previously said she agreed to author a bill, though no measure has been introduced.
“The days of large state expenditures for professional sports is probably over,” former House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said during a press conference in March. “The Minnesota Vikings at the U.S. Bank Stadium is probably the last time you’re going to see that for a while due to fiscal conservatives on the Republican side and social progressives on the Democratic side.”