Craig Leipold
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Craig Leipold is the owner of the
Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...
of the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL). He previously owned the
Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...
.


Business career

Leipold is the founder of Ameritel, a business-to-business telemarketing firm in
Neenah, Wisconsin Neenah ( ) is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River (Green Bay tributary), Fox River approximately northeast of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, O ...
. He also was the past owner of the Rainfair Company, which made protective footwear. He has also been a director of Gaylord Entertainment Company, owner of the
Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...
in
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
,
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
.


Hockey team ownership

Leipold first was considered a potential owner or investor in the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
and
Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...
teams. He attributed this interest to the fact that he knew the sport of basketball well. He became interested in ownership of a professional ice hockey franchise because there were more opportunities than in basketball. Leipold bought an expansion franchise from the NHL in 1997 for $80 million. He sold the Nashville Predators due to rising operating costs and low fan attendance. Leipold claims more than $70 million in losses during his tenure as owner of the Predators. Initially, Leipold had an agreement to sell the team to Jim Balsillie for $220 million, but he withdrew from the agreement after Balsillie started season ticket advertising for a move of the team to
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...
. The Predators were sold instead to an investor group that included William J. "Boots" Del Biaggio. The final sale price of the Predators was reported as $193 million. Leipold has gone on record objecting to Balsillie becoming an NHL owner, stating that he does not trust Balsillie. Leipold's purchase of the Minnesota Wild from founding owner Bob Naegele, Jr. was announced on January 10, 2008. Leipold had this to say about his newest acquisition, "It is a true privilege to become part of the organization and the hockey community in Minnesota." Fans of the Minnesota Wild had already begun welcoming Leipold as the new owner via the team's message board. Leipold's company Minnesota Sports & Entertainment also owns the Wild's AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild (formerly the Houston Aeros). The company manages the
Xcel Energy Center Xcel Energy Center is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000 and often called "The X" by fans, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena ...
and the Saint Paul RiverCentre.


Personal

Leipold is active in numerous civic and corporate organizations as well as several charities benefiting children. He is the co-chair of CollegeBound Saint Paul’s Fund for the Future, which seeks to raise funding to support opening a college savings account for every baby born in the city of Saint Paul, the headquarters of the Minnesota Wild. He has been named Nashville Sports Council "Sports Person of the Year," "1999 Father of the Year" by the Nashville Father's Day Council, and "Nashvillian of the Year" by the Easter Seals, following a highly successful 1998–1999 season for the Predators. He and his wife, Helen Johnson-Leipold, maintain residences in
Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...
, and
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...
, and are the parents of five sons, Christopher, Kyle, Connor, Curtis, and Bradford, and a daughter in-law. Helen is the daughter of Samuel Curtis Johnson, Jr. of the S. C. Johnson family and is chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson Outdoors, Inc. and chairman of Johnson Financial Group Leipold is a prominent Republican and supporter of
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
and
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
. The Xcel Energy Center hosted the
2008 Republican National Convention The 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008. The first day of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's convention fell on Labo ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leipold, Craig Nashville Predators owners Minnesota Wild executives Living people National Hockey League executives National Hockey League owners 1952 births Businesspeople from Racine, Wisconsin