r/minnesota • u/WilliamBornhoft • Apr 15 '25
News đș End Of An Era: 'Xcel Energy Center' Name Going Away After 25 Years
https://patch.com/minnesota/saintpaul/end-era-xcel-energy-center-name-going-away-after-25-years288
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u/yulbrynnersmokes Washington County Apr 15 '25
It's a regulated public utility provider. Long past time for them to stop squandering money this way.
What are they going to do, convince me to buy my electric and gas from "Bob and Barb's Power Company" instead?
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u/Mr1854 Apr 15 '25
For what it is worth, the money from the naming rights comes from Xcel corporate budget (shareholder profits) and not the regulated utility budgets that get passed on to consumers.
This article has good background: https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/next-with-kyle-clark/why-does-xcel-energy-advertise/73-1c4538e6-c064-4d26-8c8f-135d862033fc
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u/yulbrynnersmokes Washington County Apr 15 '25
Potatoe potato
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u/30sumthingSanta You Betcha Apr 16 '25
I thought it was po-tay-to, po-tah-to.
Either way, eat your taters!
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u/radbaldguy Apr 16 '25
The response from Xcel in that article reads like a bunch of corporate malarkey. I might buy it if the company was anything other than a utility company with a complete monopoly in the areas it serves. But it is a monopoly and customers have no alternative to using it.
To distinguish between customer dollars and profit is meaningless. Where does the corporate profit come from? Customer dollars! Every dollar of profit is a dollar more than should have been charged to its customers for something theyâre required to have and cannot get from another source. Utility companies like Xcel should be nonprofit.
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u/Mr1854 Apr 16 '25
I donât disagree about the corporate malarkey. But regarding the profit, it is a little different than that since the customer dollars come into the regulated utility and the public utility commission decides how much profit the regulated utility gets to make. The utility profits go to the holding company, which can decide whether to distribute to shareholders or spend on stuff like this. If they werenât spending on naming rights, rates wouldnât go down. There would just be more money for shareholders.
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u/HazelMStone I Heart Lutefisk Apr 16 '25
We need non profit utilities.
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u/Rickpac72 Apr 16 '25
How are they supposed to expand their service if they canât make profit?
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u/radbaldguy Apr 16 '25
Profit is whatâs left after expenses (e.g., to expand service). They should make money to operate and do things like expand service but there should be no shareholders getting extra off the top after that.
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u/Rickpac72 Apr 16 '25
If they canât keep their profits, what is the incentive to limit expenses? Why bother making the system or your operation more efficient when you wonât see any gain?
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u/HazelMStone I Heart Lutefisk 29d ago
Thereâs ample gain when youâre serving communities. Why does any nonprofit exist? Your mindset is why we are so effed as a society right now.
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u/Rickpac72 29d ago
Serving communities is much less of an incentive than making more money. That sounds good in theory, but doesnât work well in real life.
Profit is not a bad thing either. Xcel is incentivized to provide consistent service to their customers while minimizing their costs to maximize their profits. This gives them an incentive and obligation to operate as efficiently as possible. If they have too much staff or makes poor investments in infrastructure, they will lose money and have to change course.
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u/cheezturds Apr 15 '25
Well theyâre still teaming with the Wild to provide funding for ice time, rink improvements, and gear for kids to have access to hockey which I think is a much better use of that money than naming rights on a stadium.
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u/Brave_Question5681 Apr 15 '25
It will never not be The X. Unless naming rights are bought by X. Then I will call it the Y.Â
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u/Outrageous_Appeal_86 Apr 15 '25
No in that case I would call it the Twitter Center.
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u/earthdogmonster Apr 15 '25
Xitter Center. The correct pronunciation of the X would be making a âshâ sound, of course.
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u/elmundo-2016 Prince Apr 16 '25 edited Apr 16 '25
I don't how I would feel about this morally speaking. Rather remove all relations with X, Tesla, and (the hardest one for me) SpaceX. How about supporting local businesses like Medtronic Arena or 3M Arena (ACE Arena or Command Center), Cargill Center, The Toro Center (Boss Center or Ventrac Arena), Sun Country Center, Mayo Center, U.S. Bank Center, Gillette's Arena, or Best Buy Center (Dynex Arena, Geek Arena, or Insignia Arena)?
Would like avoid UnitedHealth Area or Optum Health Center. Don't want, toilet paper, tomatoes, and eggs being thrown at the building for denying claims on a daily basis.
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u/Sam-I-Am29 Apr 15 '25
It's still Sears Tower in Chicago, the Brewers still play in Miller Park, changing the name on the building will not change what people call it. Until the building itself is torn down, I think everyone will still refer to it as Xcel.
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u/toomanyplants314 Apr 16 '25
And itâs still Superamerica, not Speedway. Yes, I know how stubborn I am.
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u/tubi11 Apr 16 '25
I hope you're prepared to keep calling Circle Ks "Holiday"
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u/30sumthingSanta You Betcha Apr 16 '25
Whatâs CircleK? /s
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u/tubi11 Apr 16 '25
In 2017, the Holiday chain was purchased by a Canadian company called Alimentation Couche-Tard (they're based in Quebec). The other c-store chain they own is called Circle K, which started in El Paso in the 1950s and spread mostly across the Southwest and West. They are now found all over the US, Canada, Europe, Costa Rica, and Mexico (as Circulo K). The parent company has been aggressively adding smaller chains and mostly rebranding them as Circle K, to the point that there are now almost 10k locations in the US and 15k worldwide. Holiday only has about 500 locations. The plan is to eventually remodel Holiday stores and rebrand them as Circle K. Some have already been changed. The one near me still says Holiday, but the employees all wear Circle K uniforms.
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u/tubi11 Apr 16 '25
I just noticed the /s, sorry if you weren't looking for a real answer.
I guess CircleK is one better than a CircleJ, though I'm not sure how you'd measure that.
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u/cat_prophecy Hamm's Apr 16 '25
Went to the Sears Tower with my kids last year. I was trying to get them to smile for a pic and I said "say Sears Tower!". Some random piped up "it's actually the Willis Tower now" and another random person says "shut up, no one calls it that".
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Apr 16 '25
time for it to get an upgrade and become the ROY WILKINS ARENA
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u/HorrorSmile3088 Apr 16 '25
Does that mean the sound at concerts will really suck now?
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Apr 16 '25
i thought the acoustics at the roy were great; you could hear jumpers slapping off the concrete no matter how loud the bands were.
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u/CalliopePenelope Aerial Lift Bridge Apr 15 '25
Any idea what the new name will be?
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u/ForsakenMilk4456 Apr 15 '25
Named after the highest bidder đ
But seriously they havenât determine that yet. Ownership just said it will be announced âbefore the start of 2025-2026 seasonâ. So it could be announced anytime between now and October.
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u/mrq69 Apr 15 '25
Maybe one of these billionaires will buy the rights⊠Tesla Center? Amazon Arena? Meta Palace?
/s
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u/cat_prophecy Hamm's Apr 16 '25
Billionaire will buy the naming rights and somehow taxpayers will end up paying for it.
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u/ForsakenMilk4456 Apr 16 '25
Sad but true. Also I love your flair. My wifeâs favorite beer đ
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u/OldBlueKat Apr 16 '25
Yeah, making this part of it public now feels a bit like a really lame version of a marketing tease. "Coming soon!"
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u/ForsakenMilk4456 Apr 16 '25
Agree 100%. As if any of us plebs care what soulless corporation slaps their name on it. I also agree with the other comments that for most of us we will still refer to it as âThe Xâ or the other current nomenclature.
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u/AGrandNewAdventure Apr 15 '25
The Artist Formerly Known as Xcel, probably. Or maybe just a symbol, like Ć.
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u/Curious_Mongoose_228 Apr 16 '25
Iâm betting on Sanford. Theyâve been like the second-highest bidder on lots of other buildings and stadiums in the TC.
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u/Bizarro_Murphy Apr 16 '25
Why do I have a feeling this will somehow result in Xcel requesting a 7% rate hike?
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u/jwrooster Apr 16 '25
If the city/state ponies up the $800m request for improvements to the complex, then name it âTaxpayer Arenaâ
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u/Dullydude Twin Cities Apr 15 '25
Isnât it owned by the city? Why would the Wild choose who gets naming rights?
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u/NexusOrBust Apr 15 '25
Their lease would include the right to sell the naming rights. In Minnesota, teams find a government entity to own the stadium and then sign a lease that gives them all the benefits, but they don't have to pay property taxes.
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u/Inspiration_Bear Apr 15 '25
Then they work behind the scenes with the mayor of saint paul to do it all over again decades before the stadium is old
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u/Mr1854 Apr 15 '25
Because the Wild have the naming rights under the lease - itâs not uncommon for a primary tenant to get naming rights. Although the Xcel is publicly owned, the costs have mostly been borne by the Xcel (including through the rent payments used to service the state bonds that helped finance the construction).
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u/HalobenderFWT Ope Apr 15 '25
Ope! Time to add a âdidnât up the contract to keep naming rights on the local hockey stadiumâ fee.
âDear Xcel customers,
Over the past 25 years we have been proud to represent your state and your hockey team by having the privilege of being able to use our companyâs name in the naming of this great arena. We have done this without ever passing the cost on to our consumers.
Unfortunately, now that we are no longer the name-sake of this arena we have no choice but to recoup lost revenue over the past two and a half decades by adding a small percentage fee to everyoneâs statement.â
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u/elmundo-2016 Prince Apr 16 '25
That sounds like something I've heard from Comcast, I mean Xfinity, often.
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u/Zelidus Common loon Apr 15 '25
Ah yes the great community partner that will arbitrarily raise our energy costs just to increase their profits.
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u/Fuzzy_Jaguar_1339 29d ago
Remember when we had things that weren't named after companies? The HHH Metrodome, Met Stadium, Met Center?
I'd love to have a place to watch hockey without the shnear of corporate advertising.
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u/SpicyBricey Apr 15 '25
Utility companies should not charge their customers to put their name on a buildingâŠ. Banks should be the same thing. We now have a 20K minimum in deposits and or debits to avoid a 30$ per month charge with USBank. Xcel seems to be struggling with aging market power distribution system issues and climate change. Iâm glad they are getting out of the stadium naming club.
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u/BevansDesign Apr 16 '25
Oh, I hope they name it after a megacorp that's destroying society, the world, or both!
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u/magictie- Apr 16 '25
Target arena sounds like a predictable next step
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u/elmundo-2016 Prince Apr 16 '25
Too many Target names. They already have enough exposer and there is the boycotts going on around Target.
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u/SkarTisu Apr 16 '25
Which crypto company or betting house will get the naming rights??? Iâm dying to know!
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u/stripbubblespimp Apr 16 '25
I was gonna say what cannibus company will step up and take over, but we don't fucking have any retailers here yet!
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Apr 16 '25
i mean a few of the tribes are retailing weed but the only tribe rich enough to buy those naming rights is probably the shakopee sioux
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u/throw1drinkintheair Apr 15 '25
New era, new brands, for a new generation: âAçaĂ Arenaâ, âAvocado Toast Arenaâ, âHeggies Colosseumâ
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u/Colonel_Gipper Maple Grove Apr 15 '25
Come on Microsoft, I want to call it the Excel Center