The Minnesota Wild NHL ice hockey team plays its home games at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St Paul, Minnesota.
Built on the site of the demolished St Paul Civic Center, the arena opened on September 29, 2000, when the Minnesota Wild played their first ever game, in a preseason 3-1 win against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. They played their first regular season home game at the new arena against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 11, 2000, which ended in a 3–3 tie.
Development of the arena formed part of Minnesota’s successful application for a new NHL expansion franchise, awarded in 1997 following several attempts to attract a professional hockey team to the city after the Twin Cities’ loss of the Minnesota North Stars to Dallas, Texas, in 1993.
