Minnesota Wild Time Line page13

By nhl.com staff

[February 9, 1998] -- On June 25, 1997, the National Hockey League granted franchises to four new cities: Nashville, which will enter the League in the 1998-99 season, Atlanta (1999-2000), and Columbus and Minneapolis-St. Paul (2000-2001). Two of the cities - Nashville and Columbus - have never had an NHL franchise. But Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul were each home to an NHL team that subsequently relocated.

The Minnesota franchise is well on its way to setting up its operations. It already has surpassed the 10,000 mark for season ticket deposits for hockey action beginning less than three years from now; and on Jan. 22, the team unveiled its name and logo at a ceremony at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood, MN.

The new team name, "Minnesota Wild," came from suggestions by thousands of enthusiastic Minnesota hockey fans over the course of the past six months. The event was a celebration of the excitement, glory and return of NHL Hockey to Minnesota. Former Minnesota North Stars player, Neal Broten, entered the Aldrich Arena with the Stanley Cup, flanked by 26 Minnesota youth hockey players wearing the jerseys of all 26 NHL teams. And the event was emceed by former Minnesota North Stars' Coach Glen Sonmor and former Minnesota North Stars' defenseman Tom Reid.

The logo, unveiled on the side of a large puck, depicted the word "Wild" designed in an organic, naturalist form and included the team's official colors which are Iron Range Red, Forest Green, Harvest Gold and Minnesota Wheat.

"We think it best represents what Minnesota hockey fans hold most dear - our rugged natural wilderness, the premier brand hockey that's native to Minnesota and the great enthusiasm of all of our hockey fans," said Jac K. Sperling, CEO of the Minnesota Wild.

The team won't be making its debut a moment too soon for many of the fans who have missed a big-league hockey presence since the former Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas in 1993.

Many hockey fans across North America - and not just in the Twin Cities - were shocked to see the North Stars leave. The very mention of the region, after all, conjures up among many fans the image of winter sports, and ice hockey in particular. Minnesota's 12,000 lakes make for plenty of potential ice rinks. And with a mean January temperature of well below freezing across much of the state, there's no telling how much time Minnesotans have spent skating, shooting and checking their way through the winter.

Devoted hockey fans began their efforts to get another team for Minnesota almost as soon as the North Stars left. But wanting a team and getting one are two different things. There was a variety of issues to be worked out: Where would the team play? Who would come up with the money to finance the operation? How would the franchise fee and other costs be covered? After all, some critics argued, the area had just lost a team. What made fans so sure they could support another one?

The team's new backers hope that question was answered in the first days after the June expansion announcement. More than 6,000 season ticket reservations were sold to anxious fans in just four days, an impressive number considering the first game is three years away. And just as the many fans did in Atlanta, Columbus and Nashville, thousands turned out in the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul to celebrate the news of the announcement.

Team owners were impressed. "We are absolutely elated by the response of the fans," Sperling told a newspaper a few days after the announcement. "The rapid pace (of ticket reservations) certainly exceeds what we expected." Sperling told the newspaper that reservation sales had been so brisk that the club's telephone system went haywire. The club has launched an internet site, www.wild.com, to keep fans informed.

The fans will be buying tickets for a new arena to be built on the site of the St. Paul Civic Center. The new team, under the leadership of an investor group headed by businessman Robert Naegele, will put $35 million toward the construction of a $130 million facility that will hold as many as 19,000 hockey fans. The new arena is being modeled on the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, the well-received facility where the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim play their home games.

Minnesota, its supporters insist, is a different place than it was when the North Stars left. There has been renewed economic activity in the twin cities, as well as a more general awareness of the region from around the country. For example, the gigantic Mall of America, located in nearby Bloomington, has been the subject of almost endless media coverage. The sprawling facility boasts 4.2 million square feet - the size of seven Yankee Stadiums - and is home to more than 400 stores, 71 restaurants, a 14-screen movie theater, an indoor amusement park and an aquarium.

The enormity of the complex has drawn its share of criticism, of course. But while detractors find its mixture of plastic, noise and neon disorienting, enthusiasts - many parents among them - will tell you that they are more than happy to have a place where they can run errands, see a movie, eat dinner and learn about fish without having to risk frostbite.

Sports fans in other parts of the country, of course, don't usually think of shopping when they think of Minnesota. They are more likely to remember Kirby Puckett's Minnesota Twins - a likeable team led by one of the most popular stars of his generation - which won the World Series in 1987 and 1991. There's also the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA, the Vikings of the NFL, and the University of Minnesota Gophers hockey team, a perennial powerhouse in the college ranks.

Now that the team name and logo for the hockey franchise have been established, this hockey-crazy state can once again put its full support behind an NHL team.

Hockey History In Minnesota 1926 American Hockey Association adds St. Paul Saints and Minneapolis Millers.

1942 AHA folds.

1945 U.S. Hockey League is formed, with franchises in St. Paul and Minneapolis.

1951 The USHL folds.

1959 The St. Paul Saints are formed to play in the International Hockey League and win the title.

1966 The Minnesota Rangers of the Central Hockey League move to Omaha.

An eight-man group led by Walter Bush Jr. pays $2 million for an NHL franchise.

1967 The Minnesota North Stars play their first game on Oct. 11, a 2-2 tie with St. Louis.

1968 On Jan. 13, Minnesota's Bill Masterson suffers a grave head injury when he hits his head on the ice. He dies two days later.

1981 The North Stars reach the Stanley Cup Finals.

1991 Lou Nanne resigns as team president after 23 years.

1992 On March 10, owner Norm Green announces the team will move to Dallas.

1995 Minnesota state and local officials try to woo the Winnipeg Jets to the Twin Cities. The team moves instead to Phoenix.

1996 The NHL grants the Twin Cities an expansion team to begin play in 2000-01 season.