I visit this beautiful stadium often to see the Loons (MN United Football Club) play. It's easy to…read morefind parking in the surrounding neighborhood and then have a nice 10 minute walk to get to the stadium. Lots of concession options, friendly staff and it's very clean! Also great fun to watch live soccer in too!

First timer to Allianz Field. Was attending a company event with the family where my hubby's…read morecompany is a huge sponsor of MN United. They sponsored a picnic dinner for family outside the stadium. There's a huge pre- party area nearby for pre-game music and booths and some fun interactive experiences. I grabbed a free clear bag from Hyundai. We also checked out the kids playground area on the east side of the stadium. Loved it. Great for kids to get the wiggles out before heading into the stadium. The game was full of excitement. We sat behind the north side goal tender area. I did a nice lap around the stadium, grabbed drinks, ice cream and a souvenir for the kiddo. The only negative for me was one of the refs that had some very bad calls and the bugs. It was very buggy, I felt itchy quite often and maybe because they are constantly watering the grass so it's the only place the bugs are attracted to in the area since it's been so dry.

I've been to the RC several times over the years for various events. I recently attended a…read moregraduation here and it was a mess all around. The students were provided a limited number of tickets to ensure seating - they did scan tickets if you had them but it definitely wasn't enforced. The line to get in was chaotic. Despite there being multiple entrances to the center they only had 1 single line for hundreds of people - including the grads to enter. The security and staff did a poor job at managing the flow & logistically the security area was a waste. They were supposed to stop letting people in at 10:30 but didn't start moving the line until after 10:20. The gradation had a 11 start and started late (but that could have been more so the schools side, not sure). Most people were directed to sit upstairs. Very difficult to hear upstairs. Also when the graduation was over they locked us upstairs for over 20 min - preventing people from leaving. This was deeply concerning - for many safely reasons as it was already running over time and people had places to be. I will definitely avoid attending these types of events here.

Attended Annual Seminar offered by my employer for the 10th year here. We outgrew our previous…read morelocation. Stage and tables set up in the ballrooms for a few hundred people. Good AV setup, easy to see on projection screens, and audio is clear. Buffett Banquet services provided: sausage breakfast sandwiches, ham and cheese omelets, fruit yogurt parfaits, pastries. Coffee, juice, hot water/tea, Coke products, flavored sparking water. Tap Water pitchers on the individual round tables, along with jolly ranchers. **Sour candies for a Dental seminar! Hmm!?!** Plenty of women's restroom stalls for all these people. Clean and stocked. Easy, close parking across Kellogg Blvd. Take the skyway across to avoid traffic and unpleasant weather. However, coworkers and I carpooled in a Tahoe and barely fit under ceiling clearance. Be mindful if you have a Super Duty Deluxe Extended Cab Truck! You won't make it in.

Since the 2012-13 season, the Minnesota Wild have been almost a perennial playoff team. However,…read morethe Wild have routinely lost in the first or qualifying rounds. They've yet to get over the hump and make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. The closest the team got was in 2003. That year, they got swept by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (now the Anaheim Ducks), 4-0, in the Western Conference Finals. That said, all things considered, the Wild haven't done bad considering they're one of the NHL's youngest teams (founded in 2000). Only the Vegas Golden Knights (2017) and Seattle Kraken (2021) are newer. The Wild play at Xcel Energy Center, located in the Northwestern Precinct of Downtown St. Paul. The arena is referred to as "The X" and it opened in 2000. It was built specifically so St. Paul could get an NHL team. With a seating capacity of about 18,000, the X is in-line with most other NHL venues (15-20k seats). In team history, former Wild players Mikko Koivu and Marian Gaborik are probably the most well-known as both are ranked in the top two in terms of total points and goals scored. Koivu, who is from Finland, has also recorded the most games for the Wild at an even 1,000. Today, the Wild's best-known players are left-winger Zach Parise and defensemen Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon. Parise and Suter were both members of the silver-medal-winning US hockey team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver (Suter's dad was on the famous 1980 team that beat the Soviet Union). Since joining the team in 2012, both Parise and Suter have been key cogs in the Wild's consistent run of playoff appearances. Currently, both are alternate captains. Spurgeon first signed with the Wild earlier, in 2010, and recently signed a $53 million extension that will see him in Minnesota through the 2026-27 season. He and fellow defenseman Jonas Brodin are presently locked up the longest, contract-wise. The four aforementioned players are among the team's highest-paid at this time.

If you have been reading my reviews for a while, you know that I lived in Rochester, MN for two…read moreyears. My first year as a Minnesotan was the Minnesota Wild's inaugural year. As a result, I have a soft spot for this team. I got cable TV when I first settled in my apartment. However, I wasn't getting a ton of NHL hockey games. I was a huge hockey fan back then. I put the FAN in FANatic. I ended up changing my cable plan to basic and got the NHL game package with DIRECTV, which wasn't AT&T back then, but is now. The guy over the phone was saying that I get NFL games with my base package, which was probably a decent selling point to most Americans. I remember saying to him, "I don't care about football. I need hockey games!" Anyway, I was pleased watching local Wild games on the lone, local FOX channel whenever they were available, and all the away games on DIRECTV. Anyone remember Mike Goldberg, one of the play-by-play Wild hockey announcers on FOX? He always pronounced the last syllable of every word. Some examples: "Hi, I'm Mike Goldber-guh." "Goal by Gabori-k!" "Dow-d is in the faceoff circle." I understood the pain of losing an NHL team and getting it back. I went through it with the Winnipeg Jets. Minnesota lost its Stars team, which ended up in Dallas. When Minnesota got the Wild as its new NHL team, you knew it was the right decision. Minnesotans are diehard hockey fans. They are passionate and breathe hockey. The fanbase is loyal and strong to this day. The team's tagline is fitting and meaningful: Our state. Our team. Our ice. I couldn't get a ticket to see a game at the Xcel Energy Center as a resident of the state. I ended up putting a deposit on season tickets and returned to Canada, forgetting about this deposit for eons... until now. I recently got a game pack and went to my first Wild game. Miracles happen! The Wild have struggled to make it into the playoffs. I hope that they will someday as they continue getting the right mix of players. This year's team has a good mix of experience and talent. I am pleased to support the Wild. Xcel Energy Center is a great place to take in a hockey game. There isn't a bad seat in the house. It's fun and exciting! The food is decent. I can't wait to return soon to take in another game. Go, Wild! (425)

Roy Wilkins looked great and sounded better last night. a great production and everyone seemed to…read morelove it.

Queens Of The Stone Age was everything you 'd expect and more . This venue though pretty much…read moresucked ass. Ummm I don't get the whole drink thing, really wtf? You may not have a lid or the bottle for your five dollar soda or water it came in, why? Upon leaving the venue they tried herding us out like cattle. No. F- that. There was a door right there, only one security dude. " emergency exit" no it was not! After waiting a very long time and feeling like i was trapped in WTC we bolted, grabbed a lyft and were out!!! Again the show and merch were kick ass. This venue needs organized before I'd ever return.

Went to the Prince Night themed Wild game a few weeks ago. It was super underwhelming compared to…read morelast year's celebration. Not to mention it's the 10 year anniversary of his passing. Wild games are generally fun. Super expensive but fun. Also the lines to get it in, they need to label where the lines should form, people were forming lines at doors they didn't open and that was a lot when people were trying to get in once the doors opened. Not much improvements since the rebranding. Parking options are $30+ for events.

Home of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League, the Grand Casino Arena (recently renamed…read morein 2025, formerly Xcel Energy Center) is located in downtown St Paul. My wife and I were given the opportunity to attend the Wild-Blackhawks game on March 19, 2026 with partial season ticket holders, and really enjoyed it. The arena was completed in 2000, with the Wild playing their inaugural season that same year. It can seat almost 18,000 people and we found the sightlines to be really good with decent, comfortable seating. Concessions were well organized, though prices were high, showing the cost of going out to a game these days. A nice feature was using spectator's smart phones to create flashed coordination throughout the arena. Bathrooms were well placed throughout, and lines were short, even during the two intermissions between periods. On the concourse are displayed hockey jerseys of every hockey playing high school in the state, pushing the 'State of Hockey', and the arena being THE place for the yearly high school championships. The professional women's hockey team (Minnesota Frost) calls the arena 'home' as well. Going with locals has many benefits, one of which is getting parking that allows a quick exit onto the freeway, as opposed to the spots close to the arena that were pretty backed up. And the night had a happy ending (for me), as the Hawks beat the Wild for the first time in regulation here since 2017, 2-1.

WinterSkate is the Cutest. Date. Ever…read more Outdoor activities are one of those things that make Twin Cities winters slightly more bearable. Rice Park is another one of those things, with its pretty twinkling lights... and the majestic Landmark Center backdrop doesn't hurt either. Together, WinterSkate comes to life as an outdoor rink right in the middle of St. Paul. This year, it's open from Nov. 26 to Feb. 5. They have a warming house for changing your skates and staying cozy. The rink itself isn't huge, but I basically just need room to lurch around like a Frankenstein and then fall... so I'm good. Best part aside from the fact that you have an instant date-night? Skate rentals are only $2 and the rink itself is FREE. So what are you waiting for? Oh yeah, winter has to come first. Thanks, Wells Fargo, for making winter a little more fun!

The opening of the WinterSkate rink in Rice Park is a kickoff to the holiday season for many of us…read morein St Paul. It's a free city event where you have the opportunity to see local figure skaters cut loose on fresh ice. After that, you can wander across the street for live musical entertainment. You can get a first glimpse of the upcoming year's winter carnival button -- and watch the official lighting of the Holiday tree (and all the other trees) in Rice Park, accompanied by fireworks. A perfect holiday night. Rice park is the perfect strolling park when you're on a date at the Ordway, Riverwalk Center, Xcel Center, or anywhere else in downtown St Paul. The skating rink also makes it a great stand-alone family destination in the winter from November (when the rink opens) to the new year when Rice Park hosts the annual Ice Castle.

This is a wonderful Stadium to take in a game at. The field is nice and you can see the games and…read morea great view also. It is so close to everything also so afterward or before you can snatch a snack and cocktail at any of the local establishments. It is so spectacular that Concordia St. Paul has a beautiful stadium for it's athletes and fans. The bathrooms are large and clean. Ample parking in the lot also.

I visited this farmers' market last Saturday on a friend's recommendation. It has all the…read moreingredients I love - it is small, perhaps 40 vendors at the most, mostly Hmong. The market is in a parking lot with plenty of left-over space for parking. It focuses exclusively on fresh vegetables, herbs and some flowers. The enormous variety of greens I found here left me dizzy. For the first time in the USA, I found red amaranth greens!! And then, jute greens - yes, they are delicious stir-fried with garlic. There were gorgeous squash blossoms as well as tender squash greens. There were several greens that were new for me and the vendors, many of them women, suggested how to cook them. I got a huge bouquet of zinnias for $5, and big fat bundles of basil, cilantro, dill, each for a dollar. The market also had more common produce like cucumber, green beans, zucchini, spring onions, new potatoes, etc. I am definitely driving across town to this farmers' market - can't wait for Saturday to arrive.

Not to be all sassy but I feel like this farmer's market is nothing compared to the Minneapolis…read moreFarmer's Market...it's pretty small and does not have as nice of a selection of fresh produce. Most of the vendors sell the exact same items for the same price so there's not really an advantage to walking around and browsing. The market itself is located in the parking lot of a strip mall so you can just assume anytime you go there on the weekends the lot is going to be a huge cluster. Prices range from $1-$10 for items and it really is limited to fruits, vegetables, and maybe some flowers depending on the season. If you are looking to spend a couple hours browsing for unique breeds of fresh produce, flowers, hot food vendors, or gourmet/artisan items...THIS MARKET IS NOT FOR YOU. If you happened to forget to pick up some carrots or lettuce from the grocery store in the strip mall as you are walking out to your car, this market might be a better fit. I would say if you don't live in the frog town area, it's just not worth the stress of University Avenue and pedestrian traffic for the trip out here.

Went to watch my nephews hockey tournament this past weekend. Great facilities and the rink wasn't…read moreas chilly as other rinks...which is a bonus. The concession stand was great and the people manning it were extremely friendly. Great options including sodas, popcorn, nachos, candy, chips, etc. And love the ode to Charles Schulz.

This arena has two sheets of ice. It's nice, functional, good ice and overall unremarkable. Well,…read morethere is a Snoopy or two on the grounds and it's named after the Peanuts creator and Saint Paul native Charles Schulz. Ample stands for watching high school and youth hockey including heated areas inside the arena. Also next to a nice golf course and a historic brick water tower.

Love, love this market. Whenever I am in town to visit family, I make sure to visit this market…read more There is a great vendor that sells breakfast tacos during the winter and you can buy their tortillas to go! Lots of meat vendors, the pork chops we got were amazing. Also, many local honey vendors, flowers, as well as bread items. I cannot get over the bakery items. I was able to get a great sourdough round and some baguettes for dinner. My daughter loves these spicy cheddar rolls from one of the vendors (keep a look out for them). You cannot go wrong. It is in a central spot that makes this easy to get to, free parking and it is open fairly year round. As a tidbit, it is right next to my favorite coffee shop that makes a great Vietnamese coffee!!! PROS Free parking Lots of vendors, almost year round Great location Great people CONS Nothing, just go and enjoy the stroll

This is my nirvana! I never tire of the St. Paul Farmers Market and later summer is when it's in…read moreits prime. What makes this market special is the rule that the produce/products must be grown/made within a 100 mile radius. This ensures we have local meats, produce, plants and products. You won't find pineapples or mangos at this market. It is a joy to support these hard working farmers and entrepreneurs. The market space itself is well maintained, clean and offers restrooms. There are no dogs allowed in this market. There is often live music and there are also vendors selling breakfast sandwiches, tacos, Asian eats and everything in between. Being in Lowertown, it's mostly paid street parking. This is a MUST visit!! Saturdays and Sundays only.