Xcel Energy Center

Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul is the home of the Minnesota Wild and is consistently ranked among the best atmospheres in the NHL. The arena's design channels Minnesota's deep hockey roots, with a concourse full of state high-school and college hockey history alongside the Wild's own. "The State of Hockey" fills the building nightly with one of the league's most knowledgeable and vocal fan bases, giving even regular-season games a playoff-level buzz. Beyond hockey, the arena is a major touring-concert stop and has repeatedly hosted the NCAA Frozen Four.

The arena opened in September 2000 as Xcel Energy Center, giving St. Paul a modern home for the expansion Minnesota Wild after the North Stars' earlier departure to Dallas. It quickly became a fixture of top-level amateur and college hockey, hosting the NCAA Frozen Four in 2002, 2011, 2018, and 2024, in addition to NHL All-Star and draft events. In 2025, the Wild and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's Grand Casino struck a 14-year naming-rights deal, and the building was rebranded Grand Casino Arena that September after 25 years as Xcel Energy Center. Whatever the name on the marquee, it remains one of the sport's benchmark buildings for in-arena atmosphere.