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Getting X built wasn't easy, but Norm made it happen
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Back when Sen. Norm Coleman was a St. Paul mayor working night and day to bring professional hockey back to the Twin Cities, it would have been hard for him to guess that the effort would lead to his addressing a Republican National Convention in St. Paul. But just that happened Tuesday night.
The convention would not have been possible in St. Paul without the Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild and an arena widely praised for picture-perfect sight lines, sharp acoustics and glitzy design.
Most also agree that the X wouldn't have been built without Coleman -- planning, schmoozing, partnering and never taking no for an answer.
It was left to President Bush himself to give the place its nickname. "We're in the house that Norm built," he told a crowd of 14,000 that jammed the arena for a Coleman-for-Senate rally in 2002.
That's not far off the mark, say insiders.
"Give Norm all the credit," said John Labosky, president of Capital City Partnership, a nonprofit corporate group that promotes downtown St. Paul. "He could have just given up at any point. ..."
After failing to impress NHL teams and officials with the '70s-era St. Paul Civic Center, Coleman in 1997 began assembling the financing for a new $130 million arena on the Civic Center site, overcoming initial resistance to state help from DFLers in the Legislature with the help of Republican Gov. Arne Carlson.
The Xcel deal has critics. Many said it was ridiculous for a metro area this size to have two 19,000-seat sports arenas. Others have suggested that the arena hasn't yielded the economic boost it promised.
Still, most agree that the Xcel Energy Center has done what Coleman said it would do -- draw more people to downtown St. Paul and spur new interest in the city.
KEVIN DUCHSCHERE
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Current state office holders
Governor: Tim Pawlenty
One of only a few prominent Republicans to win a competitive re-election contest in the Democratic sweep of 2006, Tim Pawlenty is widely seen as politically shrewd and naturally likable.
- Lt. Governor: Carol Molnau
- Secretary of State: Mark Ritchie
- Attorney General: Lori Swanson
- State Auditor: Rebecca Otto
Minnesota's political giants: Learn more about the men and women who have shaped Minnesota's political history.
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