The owners? lockout that has shut down at least the beginning of the National Hockey League season is affecting more than just players and fans.

More than 800 workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 17 at the Xcel Energy Center will lose pay, possibly benefits and, in some cases, their jobs because of canceled games. Minnesota Wild home games account for about half the arena?s events and far more than half the revenue.

Most severely affected are workers at Centerplate Inc. and Wildside Catering, which handle most food and vending services at the arena. Workers at nearby bars, restaurants and hotels ? some unionized, some not ? also expect to suffer from a drop in business caused by the lockout.

Some won?t work at all
Centerplate employs about 575 workers represented by the union, nearly all of them part-time and on-call, said Lyle Franke, a business agent for Local 17. ?Virtually everyone works Wild games,? he said.

But few concerts or other events at the Xcel require that many people, so workers will be called in based on seniority, he said. ?Some people will hardly be working at all, because they won?t get down to them on the seniority list.?

Wild games account for about one-third of Wildside Catering?s business, said Nancy Goldman, another business agent for Local 17. Wildside uses as many as 250 workers to staff suites at the Xcel, restaurants on the Xcel?s club level, and events at the RiverCentre and 317 on the Park buildings.

Some of these workers essentially are full-time with benefits; others are on call to work only arena events, she said. ?It will take a serious piece of business away for some people.?

Wildside employees earn between $15 and $25 an hour, but must work a certain number of hours to qualify for health insurance and other benefits, she said. ?Some people could fall below the minimum requirement and lose their health insurance.?

Cuts in hours, cuts in income
Centerplate workers fall into two general categories, Franke said ? those who use the part-time hours at the Xcel to supplement their income, and those who essentially vend full-time by combining hours at the Xcel with hours at the Target Center and Metrodome in Minneapolis.

?Regardless, this will really cut down on their income,? he said. ?When it?s not there, they?re going to have to look elsewhere. We?re afraid that when the lockout?s over, they won?t come back.?

Workers employed by Centerplate make anywhere from $7.35 to more than $12 an hour, he said. Centerplate handles novelty, food and beverage, and bartending services at the Xcel, as well as about half the concession stands, Franke said. (Other concession stands are staffed by volunteer groups ? a contentious issue for Local 17. Those organizations also will lose money during the lockout, Franke noted.)

Will lacrosse make a difference?
The impact of the lockout is clear by looking at the Xcel?s calendar. The arena had 16 events scheduled for October ? eight of them Wild games that already have been canceled. There are six Wild games scheduled for November, but only five other events. There are seven Wild games scheduled for December, but only one non-hockey event listed at this point.

A new professional lacrosse team is supposed to begin playing at the Xcel in December, which could add eight to 10 events over the winter.

?Anything that comes through, anytime they book a concert, a religious event, a rodeo, is a day or night of work for us,? said Laurie Fossen, a senior catering supervisor for Wildside who is also a trustee of Local 17. ?But how many people are they able to utilize? Nobody has answers.?

Adapted from The Union Advocate, the official newspaper of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org