Matt Majka, CEO, Minnesota Wild

Invest: sat down with Minnesota Wild CEO Matt Majka to discuss the various avenues of business pursued by the organization to ensure continued growth, involving expansion into events like concerts, rodeos, tournaments and conventions, in addition to the main driver of growth – hockey.

Reflecting on the past year, what have been the main highlights and key milestones for the Minnesota Wild?

Over the last year, we have been busy operating our business as normal, which involves more than meets the eye. In addition to owning the Minnesota Wild, we also manage the Xcel Energy Center for all events that appear there, from concerts to high school tournaments to rodeos. We also manage the Saint Paul RiverCentre. It is integrated with Xcel, which hosts diverse events. The past year has involved preparations for a request from the legislature for a significant renovation of the Xcel Energy Center

What projects or expansion plans is the Xcel Energy Center looking to implement that could have a potential impact on downtown Minneapolis-St. Paul?

We have been discussing a renovation of the Xcel Energy Center, which is 25 years old. It still performs well and is great for hosting events, but it is time to apply improvements like cabling, Wi-Fi, kitchen spaces, the addition of a new escalator and catering to evolving consumer preferences. There are now many different seating options for events that we are interested in offering, in addition to the traditional bowl seats or suites. At the same time, we are wanting to improve the Saint Paul RiverCentre through an expansion project to make the center larger in order to attract bigger conventions. We would also like to expand the auditorium, which is a smaller performance venue built in 1932 that needs upgrades as well.

How have attendee and spectator expectations changed in recent years, and how is the Wild as well as the Xcel Energy Center adapting to address these changes?

Entertainment spectatorship has evolved significantly over the last decade, particularly in the way fans consume content through social media. Many people watch entertainment on their phones or on streaming platforms in addition to, or instead of on televisions. We expect this trend to continue. As an industry, we are still navigating these changes, and I predict more evolution to come. We want to deliver our content to fans in new and diverse ways and are in the midst of investment and exploration of accomplishing just that.

The expectations of quality and diversity of food and beverage is also extremely different today than it used to be years ago. At the same time, even the products now offered in the arena are quite different from those previously. When Xcel was built in 2000, suites were a vibrant product. Since then, most buildings have downsized their suites and introduced other premium products, like clubs and theater seating. We are studying these evolutions in order to determine how to apply these changes to our venues. 

What is your overview of the sports and entertainment industry in the Twin Cities?

For the size of our market, we are robust and diverse in terms of the number of sports available at the major league level. We have all major sports in the Twin Cities, which is impressive considering that we are vastly different from places like New York City or Los Angeles. We are a relatively smaller, midsize market but still have professional hockey, basketball, baseball, football and soccer. We also have a number of major colleges in the Twin Cities, so there is a lot available to fans and customers throughout the area. It’s quite competitive, and we found that when all the teams are doing well, there is space for everyone. The teams are all quite friendly with each other. During the pandemic we forged remote relationships that have been kept up to this day. The sports teams in the Twin Cities prioritize a collaborative effort to lift all tides.

As Minneapolis-St. Paul is a national hub for sports events and entertainment, how are professional sports such as ice hockey driving economic growth in the Twin Cities? 

We wanted to create a vibrant venue, and while hockey comes first for us, it is not our only priority. There are 44 Wild games per season before playoffs and 175 events inside the arena, so while there are many more non-hockey related events that take place, the Wild is the major economic engine that drives our organization, and it is important to keep our sights focused on that fact. I would also say that all sports teams contribute to the vitality of the region. An organization called Minnesota Sports and Events, which is supported by all Twin Cities teams, wants to attract major events to the region. At various times, we all host major international events at our venues, which are facilitated by Minnesota Sports and Events. The World Juniors International ice hockey tournament comes to the Twin Cities at the end of this year, and a handful of games will be played at our venue. The best 18 and under players in the world will be traveling here for this tournament.

What are the primary challenges facing NHL franchises, and how is the Minnesota Wild navigating those challenges?

It goes back to the evolving preferences of our fans and customers, which are vastly different now than when we debuted in 2000. One of the most interesting challenges currently faced by all sports teams is how fans are consuming content and how we need to meet fans in their own space. Phones and computers are a fact of life. We need to sell tickets to our games, but there are so many opportunities beyond that to engage with fans through social media platforms and video content. We all have to navigate that and figure out what the future holds. Television versus streaming and direct-to-consumer is a huge evolution, and we are in the midst of this transformation. This will continue to change until it settles into something completely different over the next five years or so.

What opportunities do you foresee for the Wild as well as for the NHL in terms of attracting more fans and growing the fanbase?

What separates us from other forms of entertainment is that fans and customers do not want to watch a game that has already been played. With live games, fans want to watch while it is happening. The appointment style viewing that live games demand is a massive advantage for our industry. They won’t watch a game if they know the outcome. This is good news, not only for us, but also for our corporate partners who want to advertise during games, and this is one huge opportunity which is unlike other forms of entertainment that are available online or through television.