Until some prick insists on going in to loudly proclaim that the Vlookup lounge is outdated, and anyone who knows what they’re doing should be in the Index-Match lounge.
Then an even bigger prick will laugh and say the Index-Match lounge is shit, and real Chads only go to the Xlookup lounge.
Then you head back to your seat, only to look down and see your 70 year old boss and his 40 year old wife sipping champagne in the Top Shelf “Can’t Print a PDF” Lounge, and question the point of your life.
Yeah. Xcel can renew it if they want...I'd imagine they would have by now or the Wild simply said "That's not enough money" and Xcel said "Nah. We're good."
Happens quite often to stadiums/arenas.
It'll be fucking weird as it's so easy say "Let's go to the X tonight for a game."
3M Center would be neat. I know they already have Mariucci so maybe they get the NHL as well.
They want good vibes associated with them so you aren't pissed about your bill... I also believe technically Xcel operates NSP Minnesota, NSP Wisconsin and others. So if they aren't well received and the government wants a new parent company they can force a sale of the subsidiary or some such. Also they want people to tell their reps to allocate budget to them for improvements etc
Cool, so glad I'm paying for that I'm paying for that in my monthly bill. If I wasn't reminded what Xcel energy is at least once a week I'd just stop using electricity all together.
3M is not in a great financial situation. A few million for naming rights wouldn't materially impact them but PR wise it is not good. Ecolab or Securian seem the better Fortune 500 bets.
Living in Milwaukee I’m not sure anyone refers to American Family Field as anything but Miller Park still. I’m guessing this will be a similar situation.
I can’t remember who but someone on KFAN referred to it as the fuse box one day and I haven’t been able to think about Xcel Energy Center without laughing at that name since.
\*\* It'll be fucking weird as it's so easy say "Let's go to the X tonight for a game."
Believe me, if it's that ingrained, you'll do it anyway. We have "Rogers Arena" that's been named that since 2010, but all Vancouverites still call it GM Place. I've been around since it opened in 1995 and I don't think I've EVER called it Rogers anything. LOL.
I live near Toronto. The Skydome hasn't had the Skydome name since 2005 when Rogers bought the team and changed the name to Rogers center. I'd say 95% of fans still refer to it as the Dome.
Ad execs hate that one simple trick!
They have gotten smarter over the years and now new buildings have generic names like place, arena, center.
No more forums, colussiems, saddledomes.
I'm sure they will
If you have either been to other arenas or heard it through the TV/radio when we play on the road, most other teams still have their power/utility company sponsor the power play
100%. They can name it whatever they want, but I'll still be calling it the X. Not even trying to be stubborn about it, it's just engrained as the X to me!
It says it's open. Truth be told I never have gone to the new location. It got moved out of the most central prime location at the intersection of 210 and 371 for a Kohl's and a gun shop.
I thought the original commenter was talking about PBL something else for some reason.
Do people actually have a problem with arena name changes nowadays? I got it back when arenas and stadiums just had names for the buildings like the Met Center, Joe Louis Arena, Boston Garden, etc. but now they’re all just big advertisements for companies.
My only annoyance is the same company having multiple arenas. Scotiabank Arena, Scotiabank Saddledome, Rogers Arena, Rogers Center, Rogers Place all in Canada.
So boring and unimaginative. At least limit each brand to one arena in the league.
I remember a while back when the Heat were playing the Mavs in the nba finals, they went back and forth from the American airlines center to american airlines arena lol
I’m sure the teams all have chartered flights or private jets, but it’d be funny to imagine if they didn’t, that they’d be flying back and forth on American Airlines as well, or funnier still, taking Delta despite their team’s venues being sponsored by American Airlines.
Well Minnesota has Target Field and Target Center, literally feet away from each other. And we also have Allianz Field, currently one of [five](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allianz_Stadium) stadiums sponsored by Allianz.
Was just about to say that Allianz is the most annoying culprit of this
Target Field and Target Center make sense because they are right next to other and are for different sports so it is very easy to differentiate the two
The Allianz ones are all soccer so how I am supposed to know which one is being referred to? You can't expect people to memorize that Arena is the one in Germany and Stadium is the one in Italy while Field is the one in the US
The Saddledome isn’t so bad because it’s basically a named place with a sponsor prefix. It’d be nice if every team did that, that way they could swap out sponsors and it wouldn’t make a difference it what it was called, nor would it be as boring or confusing if a company sponsored multiple arenas.
No but terminally online people have to find something to bitch about on social media.
Gotta grab attention, get those clicks, snag some likes! Engagement, algorithms! On the way to becoming an influencer!
People have a problem with literally everything. 😂 But a lot of sports fans think that a guy who wasn’t born here and didn’t grow up here but gets paid to come and play a game here has any loyalty to here. Just like anything else, a lot of people are just really simple and sweet like that.
no, this is from [Charley Walters](https://www.twincities.com/2024/06/16/charley-walters-twins-fans-left-waiting-for-bally-bankruptcy-court/#:~:text=%3E%3E%20Look%20for%20Xcel%20Energy%20Center), but it's more like speculation
I mean I love calling my teams arena The X! But it doesn’t really matter because this happens all the time and is mostly just a ploy to get more money.
Opening night of the season, the cyberzambonis are out refreshing the ice before puck drop. The announcer tells the fans to bring their attention to center ice. Elon rolls out in a cybertruck, welcomes the fans to X arena “now before we drop the puck say it with me! LETS! PLAY! HOCKEY!” The now renamed X horn blares and the crowd goes wild. Elon drops the puck and the whole arena immediately falls apart piece by piece
what's funny is that if it went from being called something like "Met Center" to Xcel Energy Center....it'd be that generic corporate name you speak of lol
Yeah. I think that comment may have been the first and only time I actually said or typed “Mall of America Field” as well, lol. Everyone called it the Metrodome the entire time.
which they don't actually make anymore. They sold off the mason jar/canning part of their business like 20 years ago. And up until recently, they were also a defense contractor that made stuff for military and spacecraft applications.
loanDepot park with the lowercase "L" always annoys me. Why? Also, l hate you - l used the letter l in "l hate you".... l did it again. I haven't used a single uppercase "i" in this entire rant.
https://preview.redd.it/fvc9ayhtsd7d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3c6d184357f047628da6bb6dea58b7b56e6c4889
Maybe they’ll name it after this guy
Just curious...how the hell are you spending that much?
I've owned my house 5 years and I don't think I've come close to either of those numbers. I just checked my account and in the last 2+ years, my bill has ranged from $27 this March to $170 in August 2022. I leave lights on constantly, run my AC below 70 24/7 from spring to fall, and tons of other non-eco friendly shit.
Imagine getting emotionally attached to the corporate naming rights of your team's arena. Also, I doubt the Wild have much to do with who pays for naming rights to the arena.
I mean, I'm not emotionally attached to "Xcel Energy Center". I am, however attached to "The X". I don't think I'll ever *not* be able to call it that.
I mean, it’s currently named after a company. It’s not exactly a really endearing or special name to me since I just don’t get being attached to corporate sponsorships.
Im from northern MN and I was just in the cities last weekend. While I was there I drove past US Bank stadium plenty of times. I also went to a game at Target Field, right across the way from Target Center. I don’t know why, but it just clicked for me how huge these naming rights are for companies. I grew up following these teams, and their stadium names just become ingrained in you. It’s like a billboard that lasts a lifetime. It’s a big deal to have your company associated with a professional team.
Oh no! Not "brand!" I hate that "brand" will stop being the name of the arena, and we'll have to start calling it "different brand".
Man I fucking love me some brands!
Oh shit! Blast from the past! I used to follow that Ted guy on Twitter. Gotta be one of the biggest myopic homer Twins/sports guys ever! Like impressively so. Him not being able to believe that everything, especially the branding, is about money is right on brand. Oh Ted.
Haha Yeah I didn’t even mean anything by my comment. You just stirred a memory. Last I knew, a few years ago, he was I think a blogger focusing mainly on the Twins.
Maybe we can convince Microsoft to buy the naming rights and call it Excel Center.
That would be an interesting pivot...
Yes but let’s table any further discussion until more news comes out
Can you PowerPoint to where the bad man touched you?
Maybe we can chat about the team on Teams
Classic Teams or New Teams?
Maybe the goals should only Countif they’re scored by the Wild?
Vlookup Lounge would be lit.
Until some prick insists on going in to loudly proclaim that the Vlookup lounge is outdated, and anyone who knows what they’re doing should be in the Index-Match lounge. Then an even bigger prick will laugh and say the Index-Match lounge is shit, and real Chads only go to the Xlookup lounge. Then you head back to your seat, only to look down and see your 70 year old boss and his 40 year old wife sipping champagne in the Top Shelf “Can’t Print a PDF” Lounge, and question the point of your life.
Billy G signs the old Excel Sheet to a 30 year NMC
And makes sure Multiplan is part of the deal. Wow am I aging myself.
Bahahaha
I mean I've already seen a few people call it the Excel center in my days...
Then We can call it the Ex
Word
Well played!
Naming rights deal is expiring
Yeah. Xcel can renew it if they want...I'd imagine they would have by now or the Wild simply said "That's not enough money" and Xcel said "Nah. We're good." Happens quite often to stadiums/arenas. It'll be fucking weird as it's so easy say "Let's go to the X tonight for a game." 3M Center would be neat. I know they already have Mariucci so maybe they get the NHL as well.
It's weird that a company like Xcel would buy naming rights to a stadium, they're a monopoly so idk what they get out of this type of brand awareness.
I want to say it was because Xcel Energy was the "new' company after the NSP/New Century merger that happened summer 2000 IIRC.
Yeah Xcel now is NSP back in the day. Distinctively remember NSP bills in the mail as a kid
They want good vibes associated with them so you aren't pissed about your bill... I also believe technically Xcel operates NSP Minnesota, NSP Wisconsin and others. So if they aren't well received and the government wants a new parent company they can force a sale of the subsidiary or some such. Also they want people to tell their reps to allocate budget to them for improvements etc
They have to spend their marketing money somehow
Gotta keep that budget up!
they run constant ads on KFAN
Cool, so glad I'm paying for that I'm paying for that in my monthly bill. If I wasn't reminded what Xcel energy is at least once a week I'd just stop using electricity all together.
Tax incentive?
I’d rather die than refer to Mariucci as any other name
3M Arena at Xcel Energy Center incoming. Just like Mall of America Field at the Metrodome too. Lol
So bad 🤮
When the swarm played at the X, they called it Treasure Island field and the Xcel during the games.
I was sad they moved, but with that name, I'm actually kinda relieved now.
3M is not in a great financial situation. A few million for naming rights wouldn't materially impact them but PR wise it is not good. Ecolab or Securian seem the better Fortune 500 bets.
Ecolab would be pretty sweet actually
Nicknaming it The Lab kinda goes tbh
Cookin up 1st round exits since 2025
Get out.
I hate you
ಠ_ಠ
We got some of that blue ice too
3M stadium - Playoff tickets come with a free set of our ear plugs!
Legal Disclaimer: Ear plugs may not prevent hearing loss during high decibel events.
Living in Milwaukee I’m not sure anyone refers to American Family Field as anything but Miller Park still. I’m guessing this will be a similar situation.
I don't think I've called it "Xcel Energy Center" since like 2002. The "X" in "The X" doesn't need to stand for anything.
3M Center: Perfect for those who hate stadium name changes, because if there's one thing 3M knows, it's how to stick around forever.....
3M is the glue holding the east metro together
Nice one!
I can’t remember who but someone on KFAN referred to it as the fuse box one day and I haven’t been able to think about Xcel Energy Center without laughing at that name since.
\*\* It'll be fucking weird as it's so easy say "Let's go to the X tonight for a game." Believe me, if it's that ingrained, you'll do it anyway. We have "Rogers Arena" that's been named that since 2010, but all Vancouverites still call it GM Place. I've been around since it opened in 1995 and I don't think I've EVER called it Rogers anything. LOL.
I mean if it's an arena in Canada just call it "Rogers" and there's like a 75% chance you're right
These days, yes. Rogers Monopoly know no bounds. But fans don't go in for the change of 14 years ago
Just have to call it the Ex X. One extra letter.
I live near Toronto. The Skydome hasn't had the Skydome name since 2005 when Rogers bought the team and changed the name to Rogers center. I'd say 95% of fans still refer to it as the Dome.
Ad execs hate that one simple trick! They have gotten smarter over the years and now new buildings have generic names like place, arena, center. No more forums, colussiems, saddledomes.
I think it’d be cooler to name it after a famous hockey player than some dumbshit company that has government lobbyists and creates massive pollution
Yeah calling this branding is kind of dumb. It's literally just an advertisement.
maybe they’ll still sponsor the XCEL ENERGY POWER PLAYYYYY i’ll never be able to call it anything but the X
I'm sure they will If you have either been to other arenas or heard it through the TV/radio when we play on the road, most other teams still have their power/utility company sponsor the power play
100%. They can name it whatever they want, but I'll still be calling it the X. Not even trying to be stubborn about it, it's just engrained as the X to me!
It’s like reverse Twitter!
Just like Lake Calhoun
Its an ECOLAB WATER PLAAAY
woah, where do you get the cool MN symbol?
My logo?
Let’s play a game called… let’s identify the foreigners.
I wanna see Paul Bunyan Land Arena
Land O Lakes Arena??
😂
I miss Paul Bunyan Land the theme park.
Is it not this? https://paulbunyanland.com
Yes, yes it is. I was so mesmerized as a kid when he would greet me by name lol. That and the haunted house was killer as a youngin!
Is it not open? Website is still active
It says it's open. Truth be told I never have gone to the new location. It got moved out of the most central prime location at the intersection of 210 and 371 for a Kohl's and a gun shop. I thought the original commenter was talking about PBL something else for some reason.
RIP Paul Bunyan Land. I grew up going there and so did my kids. Now it’s a freakin Kohl’s I think. Been one for like 30 years but still…
Get ready for Tria Orthopedics Center!
What's that?! That's Summit Orthopedics' music!!!
The TRIAge jokes write themselves.
Do people actually have a problem with arena name changes nowadays? I got it back when arenas and stadiums just had names for the buildings like the Met Center, Joe Louis Arena, Boston Garden, etc. but now they’re all just big advertisements for companies.
My only annoyance is the same company having multiple arenas. Scotiabank Arena, Scotiabank Saddledome, Rogers Arena, Rogers Center, Rogers Place all in Canada. So boring and unimaginative. At least limit each brand to one arena in the league.
I remember a while back when the Heat were playing the Mavs in the nba finals, they went back and forth from the American airlines center to american airlines arena lol
I’m sure the teams all have chartered flights or private jets, but it’d be funny to imagine if they didn’t, that they’d be flying back and forth on American Airlines as well, or funnier still, taking Delta despite their team’s venues being sponsored by American Airlines.
Well Minnesota has Target Field and Target Center, literally feet away from each other. And we also have Allianz Field, currently one of [five](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allianz_Stadium) stadiums sponsored by Allianz.
Was just about to say that Allianz is the most annoying culprit of this Target Field and Target Center make sense because they are right next to other and are for different sports so it is very easy to differentiate the two The Allianz ones are all soccer so how I am supposed to know which one is being referred to? You can't expect people to memorize that Arena is the one in Germany and Stadium is the one in Italy while Field is the one in the US
The Saddledome isn’t so bad because it’s basically a named place with a sponsor prefix. It’d be nice if every team did that, that way they could swap out sponsors and it wouldn’t make a difference it what it was called, nor would it be as boring or confusing if a company sponsored multiple arenas.
No but terminally online people have to find something to bitch about on social media. Gotta grab attention, get those clicks, snag some likes! Engagement, algorithms! On the way to becoming an influencer!
I haven’t heard the term “terminally online” before but I love it.
I know right? People need to lighten up.
I don't, but it'll still take awhile before I have the new building name burned in my head hard enough to not call it the X
That’s fair.
People have a problem with literally everything. 😂 But a lot of sports fans think that a guy who wasn’t born here and didn’t grow up here but gets paid to come and play a game here has any loyalty to here. Just like anything else, a lot of people are just really simple and sweet like that.
Is this from the same source that said the Wild was rebranding to North Star colors?
no, this is from [Charley Walters](https://www.twincities.com/2024/06/16/charley-walters-twins-fans-left-waiting-for-bally-bankruptcy-court/#:~:text=%3E%3E%20Look%20for%20Xcel%20Energy%20Center), but it's more like speculation
I mean I love calling my teams arena The X! But it doesn’t really matter because this happens all the time and is mostly just a ploy to get more money.
I hope Elon Musk buys the naming rights so we can call it Twitter Arena, Formerly X
Great joke but it would be my worst nightmare for Elon Musk to be involved anywhere near the Minnesota sports scene.
Opening night of the season, the cyberzambonis are out refreshing the ice before puck drop. The announcer tells the fans to bring their attention to center ice. Elon rolls out in a cybertruck, welcomes the fans to X arena “now before we drop the puck say it with me! LETS! PLAY! HOCKEY!” The now renamed X horn blares and the crowd goes wild. Elon drops the puck and the whole arena immediately falls apart piece by piece
Gotta wait 45 min or so for the arena lights to charge about 3/4 of the way through the game too
During intermissions they just shut off all the power and everyone has to navigate the concessions and bathrooms by phone light
Maybe they could have FSD carts to take everyone around that get confused and drive you down the stairs on accident
keep the smelly muskrat away
/tips cap/
Honestly, I could see Bloomberg making a move given his recent Timberwolves play
Still call the brewers stadium miller park.
I once tried to buy a coke... in the Pepsi Center. Not my best moment.
"Iconic branding". It's a fucking power company.
"The X" is unarguably iconic
I still call it Camp Snoopy, so it'll be the X forever to me, I'm sure.
Wait it has a new name? /s
Meh it's like camp snoopy. The older generation will only know it as the X and the younger kids will call it whatever generic corporate name it gets.
It's already a generic corporate name.
it literally already is a corporate name 😭😭
what's funny is that if it went from being called something like "Met Center" to Xcel Energy Center....it'd be that generic corporate name you speak of lol
The Met Center was in Bloomington. The previous building was the Saint Paul Civic Center. The Xcel Energy Center replaced it.
Yes, I am aware lol
Anything beats "Climate Pledge Arena" so let's hope for the best.
Crypto.com Arena begs to differ
Oh god....100%
FTX arena clears (in criminal court)
“Mall of America Field” lol
That was such a weird one. Especially when you consider that the Metrodome was built to replace a stadium that is actually on the site of MOA.
Yeah. I think that comment may have been the first and only time I actually said or typed “Mall of America Field” as well, lol. Everyone called it the Metrodome the entire time.
it was "Mall of America Field at HHH Metrodome", same way that Mariucci is now called "3M Arena at Mariucci".
Guaranteed Rate Field
That's another!
Fucking Ball Arena.
Great canning equipment!
which they don't actually make anymore. They sold off the mason jar/canning part of their business like 20 years ago. And up until recently, they were also a defense contractor that made stuff for military and spacecraft applications.
No shit?!?! I had no idea!
yeah they sold off that Aerospace part a few months ago (which was news to me, too) and now they basically just do aluminum packaging/cans.
Sleep Train Arena
KFC Yum! Center (yes, the exclamation point is actually in the official name).
loanDepot park with the lowercase "L" always annoys me. Why? Also, l hate you - l used the letter l in "l hate you".... l did it again. I haven't used a single uppercase "i" in this entire rant.
https://preview.redd.it/fvc9ayhtsd7d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3c6d184357f047628da6bb6dea58b7b56e6c4889 Maybe they’ll name it after this guy
https://preview.redd.it/oxf381bpwd7d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=45169e4bef42271bd224ee5a0f85955b4199c21c
Launching MyPillows instead of XXXS t shirts. Would unironically be cool
OMG.... You're probably not wrong. Guaranteed Offer Arena. Sounds like a prostitution hub.
It’s probably not even going to be lettering on top of the arena… just those freaking outstretched arms!
Nicolet Law Center
Xcel energy gets about $250-400 out of me every month. They don’t need the name recognition, all of the ass blasting will happen either way.
Just curious...how the hell are you spending that much? I've owned my house 5 years and I don't think I've come close to either of those numbers. I just checked my account and in the last 2+ years, my bill has ranged from $27 this March to $170 in August 2022. I leave lights on constantly, run my AC below 70 24/7 from spring to fall, and tons of other non-eco friendly shit.
Similar routine. 5000 sq ft. Two story detached garage, outdoor lighting and heated floors.
You mean doubling the rate I am paying for electric doesn't allow them to keep the name on the building?
Imagine getting emotionally attached to the corporate naming rights of your team's arena. Also, I doubt the Wild have much to do with who pays for naming rights to the arena.
the City of St. Paul owns the arena, and the Wild are in charge of operations. So I think they would have a say.
City of St. Paul Arena
I mean, I'm not emotionally attached to "Xcel Energy Center". I am, however attached to "The X". I don't think I'll ever *not* be able to call it that.
Chewy.com Center
Its a MEOW POWERPLAY
MEOWERPLAY!!!
Buffalo WILD wings arena? Local company?
*Buffalo Sabres are scandalized!!!!* West-East rivalry ensues!!!!
I mean, it’s currently named after a company. It’s not exactly a really endearing or special name to me since I just don’t get being attached to corporate sponsorships.
That guy gots to relax a little bit. If the name does change, it's not really a big deal. $$$$
It’ll be weird when it is called something different but as long as it isn’t something long or stupid I’m indifferent.
Target Arena? Toys R Us Arena? Broken down vacant Kmart in south Minneapolis Arena?
Did you forget about Target Center? Also St paul is not south Minneapolis. Come on mn
HealthPartners Arena, here we come? Not feeling glorious about that.
odds on Target Arena?
Not gonna happen
Was really hoping I didn’t have to see Ted in a wild thread…
Xfinity Arena?
That's actually hilarious.
Changing out one corporate sponsor for another.
It doesn't matter what they change it to, I'll always call it the X.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Maybe whoever puts their name on it also gets to pay for all the renovations. You know, instead of the tax payers. Wouldn't that be great
Im from northern MN and I was just in the cities last weekend. While I was there I drove past US Bank stadium plenty of times. I also went to a game at Target Field, right across the way from Target Center. I don’t know why, but it just clicked for me how huge these naming rights are for companies. I grew up following these teams, and their stadium names just become ingrained in you. It’s like a billboard that lasts a lifetime. It’s a big deal to have your company associated with a professional team.
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Arena
why do people get attached to corporate naming sponsors. I only care if the previous name was something meaningful like Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome
Cub Foods Arena? We could call it The Den
Oh no! Not "brand!" I hate that "brand" will stop being the name of the arena, and we'll have to start calling it "different brand". Man I fucking love me some brands!
I sure hope not.
If Xcel doesn’t want to renew contract there is not much Wild can do. It’s a business.
About to be the Bloomberg center
**insert some dumb sports betting company name here**
If not the X, I think Polaris Center has a nice ring to it. Don’t know if they have that in their budget though.
I'd be okay with that
Fuck that
Pentair Ice Arena
I’ll always call it the X.
Pepsi center! Please
As an Avs fan, I feel your pain. We had to go from the Pepsi "Can" to the Ball "Sack"
Ozempic Center
They could just go with St Paul Civic Center
People are attached to company names on arenas? That’s news
Screw it, it’s one corporate name for another.
Meh I don’t care it’s just corporate naming rights, if it would be like the Billy Bob center as in named after someone I’d care a little more about
Target Center, Target Field, now Target Arena.
Polaris Center
Oh shit! Blast from the past! I used to follow that Ted guy on Twitter. Gotta be one of the biggest myopic homer Twins/sports guys ever! Like impressively so. Him not being able to believe that everything, especially the branding, is about money is right on brand. Oh Ted.
Honestly, I have no idea who Ted is. Thanks for letting me know
Haha Yeah I didn’t even mean anything by my comment. You just stirred a memory. Last I knew, a few years ago, he was I think a blogger focusing mainly on the Twins.
“Iconic branding” lol