Saint Paul, MN · Capacity: 17,954
Home of the Minnesota Wild in downtown Saint Paul. Renamed Grand Casino Arena September 2025 (formerly Xcel Energy Center for 25 years).
St. Paul's downtown arena is the home of the Wild, the beating heart of the self-proclaimed “State of Hockey,” where Minnesota's deep hockey roots fill the building night after night.
It's in downtown St. Paul, walkable to the bars of the city and a short hop from Minneapolis.
Below are the St. Paul stays, restaurants and bars fans use around the arena.
Hotels, bars, restaurants and things to do near Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul — every pick web-researched and source-cited, closest to the arena first.
Industrial-chic boutique hotel in a converted 1897 warehouse in the North Loop. Rooftop bar with year-round sauna, Tullibee restaurant, and a vibe that captures Minneapolis's creative energy. Visiting musicians, Timberwolves opponents, and festival performers stay here.
Luxury hotel in a historic Ivy Tower building connected to Minneapolis's famous skyway system for weather-proof walks to Target Center and US Bank Stadium. The top stay for visiting fans during Vikings games, Final Fours, and Super Bowls.
A downtown Minneapolis luxury hotel connected to the skyway system, offering warm refuge during frigid Minnesota game days. Timberwolves and Vikings fans love the proximity to Target Center and U.S. Bank Stadium, plus the heated skyway walk means never facing the cold.
Housed in the landmark 1929 Foshay Tower, this W Hotel offers stunning city views from its rooftop bar Prohibition and rooms with art deco flair. It's centrally located between U.S. Bank Stadium, Target Center, and Target Field — perfect for fans hitting multiple venues. The observation deck on the 30th floor provides a panoramic view of the Minneapolis skyline.
Modern hotel in the Mill District offering free bikes for the short ride over to Target Field.
Downtown hotel connected to the Minneapolis Skyway, allowing an indoor walk to Target Field in any weather.
A sprawling downtown Irish pub steps from Target Center and Target Field, The Local is Minneapolis's definitive pre-game and post-game watering hole. Three floors of bars, live music, and hearty pub fare make it a year-round gathering spot for Twins, Timberwolves, and Vikings fans. The rooftop patio is the place to be during summer baseball season.
Day Block Brewing sits in the historic warehouse district just a few blocks from Target Field, making it the natural craft beer stop for Minnesota Twins fans before and after games during the long summer season. The rooftop patio is one of downtown Minneapolis's best outdoor drinking spots, with views of the stadium's illuminated arches glowing against the Minnesota evening sky on night-game dates. The brewery's Minnesota-themed beer names and locally sourced food menu celebrate the state's sports culture in every detail.
Fulton Beer is the Minneapolis brewery most intimately connected to Twins baseball culture, with its taproom blocks from Target Field filling up with fans in Twins gear on game days and pouring the beloved Sweet Child of Vine IPA alongside seasonal specialties that celebrate Minnesota's ingredients. The brewery's open industrial space and Twin Cities sports paraphernalia on the walls make it feel like the unofficial pregame home of the Target Field faithful. Fulton was founded by Twins fans and has never forgotten it.
Marvel Bar is a subterranean cocktail den beneath the Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis's North Loop, where bartenders craft custom drinks based on your mood and preferences. Vikings fans and Target Center concert-goers descend the stairs for some of the best cocktails in the Midwest.
A standout craft brewery in the trendy North Loop neighborhood, Modist is known for its innovative Dreamyard IPA and rotating experimental brews. The industrial-chic taproom is a short walk from Target Field and fills with Twins fans during baseball season. Frequent collaborations with local sports teams make it a true Minneapolis fan culture hub.
Legendary Minneapolis craft brewery with a massive beer hall, outdoor beer garden, and a pizza operation near the University of Minnesota campus. The brewery that changed Minnesota beer law, now a pregame cathedral for Gopher and Vikings fans.
A subterranean downtown Minneapolis restaurant famous for its creative brunch menu featuring lemon ricotta hotcakes, wild boar sloppy joes, and house-made peanut butter. Located near Target Center, it's a game-day morning tradition for Timberwolves and Lynx fans. The quirky underground vibe and bold flavors have made it a Minneapolis culinary icon.
The birthplace of the Jucy Lucy — a cheese-stuffed burger that erupts with molten goodness — claimed by Matt's Bar since the 1950s in a hotly contested Minneapolis rivalry.
The self-proclaimed birthplace of the Jucy Lucy — a cheese-stuffed burger that's become a Minneapolis icon. This no-frills south Minneapolis dive has been serving its molten-centered masterpiece since the 1950s. Vikings and Twins fans make the pilgrimage here as a sacred game-day ritual. Cash only, no substitutions, and worth every bit of the wait.
Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis' North Loop neighborhood is one of the finest expressions of New Nordic cuisine outside Scandinavia, sourcing ingredients from Minnesota farms and presenting them with creative intensity in an intimate space that has earned national acclaim. Sports travelers with a pregame dinner reservation at Bachelor Farmer before a Target Center or Target Field event experience Minneapolis food culture at its most sophisticated. The restaurant's wood-fired menu and exceptional Minnesota wine and spirits program reflect the city's quiet culinary ambition.
Midtown Global Market in the Lake Street neighborhood is Minneapolis' most vibrant multicultural food hall, gathering vendors from Somalia, Mexico, Ethiopia, Central America, and Minnesota's own farming communities under one historic roof. Sports travelers who venture beyond the North Loop discover a side of Minneapolis food culture that reflects the city's extraordinary immigrant communities. Sampling Somali rice and goat, Mexican tortas, and Minnesota wild rice soup in the same afternoon is a uniquely Minneapolis experience that enriches any sports trip.
Minneapolis's best fried chicken restaurant with crispy, Tennessee-style hot chicken and classic Southern sides. A gameday tradition for Vikings and Twins fans who need serious comfort food before or after battling Minnesota winters at the stadium.
The Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame honors the state's extraordinary athletic legacy, from Vikings and Twins legends to NHL stars and college athletics champions who have called Minnesota home. Exhibits across various venues celebrate a state that has contributed disproportionately to American sports culture across multiple eras. It's an enlightening companion experience to attending live games in the Twin Cities.
The North Loop neighborhood immediately north of Target Field has evolved into Minneapolis's premier sports fan district, with warehouse-style craft bars, pizza joints, and sports lounges that fill with Twins crowds on summer evenings and Vikings fans in the fall when Target Field transitions to a pre-game gathering zone. A self-guided crawl from Freehouse Brewery through Fulton Taproom and ending at Cuzzy's bar takes fans through the neighborhood's best venues while soaking up the pre-game atmosphere that makes Minneapolis summer evenings legendary. The walk back from Target Field through North Loop after a walkoff Twins win is one of the great simple pleasures in American sports fandom.
Target Center is the downtown home of the Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx, recently renovated to modernize the fan experience while preserving its central role in Minneapolis sports culture. The Lynx's dynastic four championships in eight years has made this one of the most celebrated WNBA arenas, with devoted fans who pack the building for playoff runs. A Target Center visit is a genuine Minneapolis sports experience that goes beyond just NBA basketball.
Target Center — home to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the record-breaking Minnesota Lynx — underwent a major renovation that transformed its concourses into a celebration of Minnesota basketball history, with championship banners, retired jersey displays, and interactive fan zones that reward early arrival on game nights. The Lynx's four WNBA championships are prominently honored alongside the Timberwolves' Kevin Garnett era, giving basketball fans rich material to explore before tip-off. The arena's downtown location, steps from Target Field and the light rail line, makes it the centerpiece of Minneapolis's compact and walkable sports district.
Explore the Minnesota Twins' open-air ballpark with a guided tour of Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. The walk covers the Twins dugout, press box, Champions Club, and the limestone-clad concourse that celebrates Minnesota's outdoor heritage, with views of the city skyline beyond the outfield.
Tour the $1.1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium, the glass-roofed home of the Minnesota Vikings that hosted Super Bowl LII. The guided experience covers the Legacy Gates featuring the world's largest pivoting glass doors, premium club spaces, locker rooms, and field level beneath the iconic translucent ETFE roof.
Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul is tracked across 0 events and seats 17,954 fans. Here's how fans build a trip around it:
Structured facts on this page (capacity, opening year, architect, ownership) are compiled from public reference databases and verified against venue coordinates.
Check back for celebrity sighting reports from Grand Casino Arena.
Grand Casino Arena has a capacity of 17,954 people.
Grand Casino Arena opened in 2000. It was designed by Populous.
Minnesota Wild, Minnesota Swarm, Minnesota Lynx, Minnesota Frost play home games at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul.
Check our events page for upcoming events at Grand Casino Arena.