The Iowa Wild (AHL) have announced an agreement in principal on a five-year lease extension for Wells Fargo Arena, beginning with the 2018-19 season. Along with the lease extension, it has been announced that Wells Fargo Arena will host an NHL preseason game between the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, September 19 at 7:00 p.m.
“The organization is thrilled to be extending our lease with Polk County and Wells Fargo Arena for another five seasons,” said Iowa Wild President Todd Frederickson. “We have an outstanding hockey community here in the Des Moines region. We recently hit our one-millionth fan in January and can’t say enough about the support from the fans and corporate partners during our first five seasons here. All of us with the Wild are excited to share the next five years with our fans and be a part of this wonderful community.”
“Iowa Wild is a first-class organization who has been fully committed to our community since announcing its move here five years ago,” said Angela Connolly, Chair Polk County Board of Supervisors. “We look forward to working with the Wild to build on that foundation during the next five years and beyond.”
On April 18, 2013, Minnesota Wild announced an agreement to play at Wells Fargo Arena starting in October later that year with the brand new Iowa Wild. The team played its first-ever game on Oct. 12, 2013, a 1-0 win at Wells Fargo Arena against Oklahoma City Barons.
Through the first four full seasons at Wells Fargo Arena, the Wild averaged 5,839 fans per game. In the team’s fifth season, Iowa is averaging 6,013 fans per game.
“Our relationship with Iowa Wild has been tremendous during the last five years and we are truly excited to extend the team’s lease agreement, locking the organization into Des Moines and Wells Fargo Arena for an additional five years,” said Spectra’s Chris Connolly, General Manager of Wells Fargo Arena/Iowa Events Center.
The preseason game between Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues will be the first NHL game at Wells Fargo Arena in its history.
“We are extremely thankful for the tremendous support we have received from our fans in Iowa over the last five seasons and look forward to playing a preseason game in Des Moines this September,” said Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher.
Since moving to Iowa, more than 40 players have suited up for both the Minnesota and Iowa Wild, including Jason Zucker, Matt Dumba, Joel Eriksson Ek, Luke Kunin, Alex Stalock, Gustav Olofsson, Mike Reilly and Zach Parise.
