Beginning play for the 2013–14 season as the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL), the team's home games are held at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Iowa Wild franchise began as the Houston Aeros, a 1994 expansion team in the International Hockey League (IHL) that played out of the Compaq Center.

Upon joining the AHL, the Aeros affiliated with the National Hockey League's one-year-old expansion team, the Minnesota Wild.

[4] On April 18, 2013, the Minnesota Wild announced that Minnesota Sports and Entertainment were unable to reach a lease agreement with the Toyota Center, and the Aeros would be relocated to Des Moines, Iowa, beginning with the 2013–14 season with home games at Wells Fargo Arena.

[5] The Iowa Wild inaugural season was opened on October 12 with a 1–0 win over the Oklahoma City Barons.