Credit: Minnesota Wild (@mnwild – X)
Unlike the Minnesota Twins, the Minnesota Wild are one of the best teams in the NHL this season. But for most of the past two decades, the Wild have been one of the NHL’s best-run organizations, under owner Craig Leipold.
That too runs contrary to everything the Twins have been about for most of the last two decades, under younger generations of Pohlad ownership.
Craig Leipold: Proud owner of TWO Minnesota pro teams
Postseason success hasn’t come on the ice, as a result, but the Wild continue to have one of the most devout fanbases in hockey, and one that sells out Grand Casino Arena (formerly Xcel Energy Center) on a nightly basis.
Unlike some of the other professional sports owners who have come through the Twin Cities over the last few decades, Leipold has never been afraid of spending money or taking risks, some of which have certainly come back to bite him.
Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images
The billionaire keeps swinging, though, with the Quinn Hughes blockbuster being his latest example.
And now, Leipold is one of multiple new Minnesota Twins minority partners, after investment groups from across the country swooped in to save the Pohlads from drowning in $500 million worth of debt.
After announcing the new minority partners recently, the Twins made it clear that there are no paths to additional ownership shares built into any of the purchase agreements the Pohlads with these minority owners.
Could Craig Leipold be the Minnesota Twins next majority owner?
There are still plenty of questions, however, surrounding the family’s long-term viability in the MLB ownership space. Many around the league believe it’s just a matter of time before the Minnesota Twins go back up for sale.
And if that happens, former Twins pitcher and longtime local insider Charley Walters (Pioneer Press) believes Wild owner Craig Leipold should not be overlooked as the next guy to take over, after 40+ years of Pohlad ownership.
Don’t underestimate the chance that Wild owner Craig Leipold and his family, once Major League Baseball settles on a new economic model in a year or two, become the Minnesota Twins’ next controlling owners.
Leipold, remember, paid $80 million in 1997 for a NHL expansion team in Nashville, Tenn. In 2007, he sold the Predators for $193 million. A year later, he bought the Wild for $280 million.
Today, the Wild are valued at nearly $2 billion. The Twins have been seeking $1.75 billion in a sale.
Charley Walters – Pioneer Press
Why MN Twins going back up for sale makes sense
Those who subscribe to that theory point to the upcoming CBA negotiations, which are expected to bring HUGE changes to the way Major League Baseball operates financially.
It’s even plausible we see a salary cap for the first time in MLB history. If talks break the right way for owners, we could see franchise values skyrocket.
That would allow the Pohlads to walk away with the MN Twins valued closer to (maybe even higher) $2.0 billion than the $1.5 billion they were worth (according to Forbes), the last time the team on the market, between 2024 and 2025.
Leipold has been a model owner for the Wild. No doubt he would be a welcome owner of the Twins.
Charley Walters – Pioneer Press
Mentioned in this article: Craig Leipold
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