By Marino Eccher
St. Paul Pioneer Press
ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild will open the Xcel Energy Center to fans during the opening weekend of training camp.
The team’s Saturday practice will be open to the public, starting at 9 a.m. Camp starts on Friday.
The Wild also will hold a public practice during a two-day trip to Duluth. The Sept. 30 practice at AMSOIL Arena will be open, starting at 10:30 a.m.
Preseason games begin Sept. 21 at home against Buffalo. The regular season starts Oct. 8.
Also it has been announced that the Wild are adding walk-through metal detectors to all Xcel Energy Center gates this season, part of a new league-wide screening policy.
It’ll start with the first preseason game Sept. 21 in St. Paul. Ticket holders won’t have to remove their jackets, shoes, belts, keys and other small items, but they will have to set aside cellphones and cameras.
The NHL mandated that all venues use metal detectors starting this season.
The team says it is “making every effort” to ensure the new screening won’t slow entry into the arena but acknowledged that it expects the process to take longer as guests get used to the new policy.
Gates will open 75 minutes before game time (up from 60 minutes) to give people more time to get through.
There will be pat-down lanes at Gates 1, 3, 4 and 5 for people who can’t use metal detectors. People who leave the arena to smoke will need to be rescreened to get back in.
