Saturday, August 05, 2006
St. Paul Xcel Energy Center
WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com
Minneapolis/St. Paul is proposing that the 2008 Democratic National Convention take place at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center.
The Xcel Center opened in 2000, the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, other teams, and the usual arena events. The building seats 18,000-19,000, depending on configuration, and 74 luxury boxes. The building totals about 650,000 square feet of building space.
A diagram of the Xcel Center and the surrounding area is at left. Note that unlike Denver’s Pepsi Center, the Xcel Center is mostly surrounded by buildings. This is good and bad. The good is that a convention center, the St. Paul RiverCentre, is right next door, offering great workspace for the media and convention needs. Also next door is the Roy Wilkins Auditorium, which also provides good workspace. The bad is that it makes the area more congested, and the convention has a large effect on nearby locations.
Another issue is that the main convention hotel will be in Minneapolis which will present some transportation difficulties, but nothing insurmountable.
I will update this entry as more information is found. Please comment or email any updates.
Previous overviews: Denver Pepsi Center
Posted by Matt at 9:46 PM 
Go MN!!! I really think this is the best location for the DNC!
I disagree. I want a Pepsi. Rocky Mountain High…
I’m not impressed with this venue. I’m going for the Pepsi Center, Denver. I took a look at the layout of where the Pepsi is in downtown Denver vs. Minn.’s place in Minneapolis. I found that Pepsi’s in a better spot for trendy action going on in Denver, and it has a better look and parking layout. I’m going for Denver.
I agree. Denver’s the best.
Actually, I wanted to correct you. The MN venue is in ST. PAUL, not Minneapolis!!! It’s very insulting to the people who live there when people mix these two cities up. Just thought that you should know so that you can be more careful. No hard feelings…
I just want to respond by saying that MN’s venue is in a great location. First of all, people are not going to be driving up to the Xcel Energy Center so the amount of parking is fine for the area. If they can accomodate all of the people for the MN Wild hockey games, the DNC should be able to figure out how to do it for the convention. Plus, the two cities give people a lot of variety. There’s stuff for everyone. Minneapolis will be great for the younger crowds while the older crowds will enjoy downtown St. Paul. By the way, St. Paul is quite trendy, it’s just forgotten about because of Minneapolis.
It’s also important to remember that there will be a lot of security around the convention so it’s good that the Xcel isn’t surrounded by tons of businesses.
I’m now going for Denver more than ever. Minneapolis should go talk to there buddies over there in the Republican Party. Go Democrats, go Denver 2008!
Wow, this site is great! I guess that I am leaning towards supporting MN for the convention. I’ve been there twice and I think that the Democrats would fit in perfectly there.
I’m from Denver – born and raised – and can tell everybody here that the Mile High City is the perfect venue for the 2008 DNC. Minneapolis is nice and all that, so’s New York. But Denver is the coolest city I’ve ever been to. I’ve been coast to coast, L.A. to Miami, and I can certify my favorite city – Denver. Go Denver 2008.
I’ve been to the Xcel before and it’s fabulous! It would definitely prove to be a good choice for the democrats!
To the guy who said Minneapolis can talk to their Rupublican buddies because Colorado wants the Dems. Um sir, Minnesota has been blue consistantly for longer than any other state. And Minneapolis is one of the most liberal cities in the country. As I recall, Colorado is a red state. I live in Minneapolis and used to live in Denver. I think Denver is more suited to Republicans and Minneapolis to the Dems.