Rumor: Minnesota Wild Have New Partner for Soon to be Renamed Xcel Energy Center

Most of the professional stadiums are the Twin Cities have nicknames in which their fans affectionately refer to them. Among them, the Minnesota Wild’s Xcel Energy Center may be the best. “The X” easily rolls off the tongue and has become synonymous with the hockey team. Previous reports suggested a name change could be coming, and it looks like we’ll have an answer soon.

New name for Minnesota Wild’s “X” will take time

It’s typical for a stadium to change partners on naming rights. While fans gravitate towards what something has been known the longest, money fuels every single sports organization. When reports trickled out suggesting that The X would no longer be the home of the Minnesota Wild, it was at least a little bit shocking. The Pioneer Press’ Charley Walters has offered the first definitive report as to what may be next.

“St. Paul-based Securian Financial is still getting whispered as new corporate sponsor, replacing Xcel Energy Center.”

Charley Walters on the new Minnesota Wild naming rights partner (Pioneer Press)

It makes sense that the new corporate sponsor would be a locally-based company. This isn’t “The Bank” going from TFC to Huntington though. Securian Financial won’t be able to replace the short moniker that houses the Minnesota Wild, and it will be interesting to see if the idea sticks at all.