The Minnesota Wild, the St. Paul Winter Carnival and the Red Bull Crashed Ice event should help give downtown St. Paul an economic boost, WCCO reports. This couldn’t come at a better time for businesses who dealt with the financial impact of the NHL lockout.
“This is probably the hottest week of winter activity in St. Paul in a long time,” said Adam Johnson, vice president of marketing for Visit Saint Paul. “There are so many great events kicking off in the next week, it’s great for our bars and restaurants.”
Last Saturday, a crowd of more than 19,000 hockey fans filled the Xcel Energy Center for the Wild’s home opener against the Colorado Avalanche. It was the sixth-largest attendance in the team’s history.
WCCO notes each Wild home game generates about $900,000 for downtown bars, restaurants, shops and hotels.
Crashed Ice attracted roughly 80,000 visitors last year and brought in an estimated $20 million to the city. The three-day extreme competition is back this weekend near the Cathedral of Saint Paul for the second year in a row.
