Alerus Center
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| Alerus Center | |
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| Location | 1200 S 42nd St Grand Forks, North Dakota 58201-3733 |
| Broke ground | July 1998 |
| Opened | February 10, 2001 |
| Owner | City of Grand Forks, ND |
| Operator | City of Grand Forks, ND |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Construction cost | $80 million USD |
| Architect | Schoen & Associates Johnson Laffen Architects |
| Former names | Aurora Events Center (pre-construction) |
| Tenants | North Dakota Fighting Sioux football (2001-present) |
| Capacity | Concerts (full-house set): 21,000 Concerts (half-house set): 11,000 Theater: 4,600 Football: 13,500 Basketball: 9,500 |
| Field dimensions | Overall square footage: 447,000 Ballroom square footage: 26,000 Arena floor dimensions: 415' north to south 240' east to west |
The Alerus Center is an indoor arena and convention center located in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The facility is owned and operated by the city of Grand Forks and opened on February 10, 2001. The arena's major tenant is the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team. The arena also plays host to many large concerts, sporting events, and trade shows. It can seat more than 21,000 people at one time. The convention center section of the facility includes a 26,000 square foot ballroom and 12 meeting rooms. The convention center is used for conferences, seminars, banquets, parties, and smaller concerts. Directly adjacent to the Alerus Center is a large hotel and waterpark complex called the Canad Inns Destination Center.
The Alerus Center is named after a local financial institution, Alerus Financial, which purchased the building's naming rights. Prior to opening, the facility had been referred to as the Aurora Events Center.
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[edit] History
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To meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup because it is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (May 2007) |
- 1984 - A vote to increase the local sales tax to expand the downtown Civic Auditorium fails
- 1992 - A vote to fund a new convention center on 32nd Avenue South fails
- 1995 - A vote to increase the local sales tax to build a new events center (dubbed The Aurora Events Center) passes with 60% approval
- 1996 - Voters approve additional $17 million to fund project after price increase
- 1997 - Flood of 1997 - delays the project
- 1998 - Aurora redesigned to make the facility less susceptible to future flooding
- 1999 - Compass Management hired to manage facility
- 2000 - Aurora renamed The Alerus Center after Alerus Financial, buys naming rights for a period of 20 years
- 2001 - Alerus Center opens on February 10
- 2006 - 5th anniversary
- 2006 - Construction starts on Canad Inns hotel tower and water park
- 2007 - Construction on the Canad Inns Destination Center completed
- 2007 - city ends its management contract with Compass Management
[edit] Events
The Alerus Center has played host to many popular musical acts including Cher, The Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, KISS, Aerosmith, Bette Midler, Cirque du Soleil, and Mötley Crüe. The 2002 Cher Living Proof: The Farewell Tour concert was the largest such event ever held at the arena and, at that time, was the largest audience the entertainer had ever performed in front of.[1] Other non-music events have also been held at the Alerus Center including WWE Smackdown and the 2008 North Dakota Democratic-NPL Convention featuring presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton speaking[2].
[edit] Competition
Grand Forks is unique because it is a relatively small market with two major event centers, the Alerus Center and the Ralph Engelstad Arena, which both often bid to host the same events. To a lesser extent, the Chester Fritz Auditorium in Grand Forks also sometimes competes for these same events as well. Regionally, the Fargodome in nearby Fargo, North Dakota and the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba are seen as competitors to the Alerus Center.
[edit] Canad Inns Destination Center
Located directly north of the Alerus Center sits the Canad Inns Destination Center, completed in 2007.[3] This $50 million dollar complex is anchored by a 201-room, 13-story hotel tower which, at 126 feet, is the tallest building in Grand Forks and the tallest building constructed in North Dakota since the mid 1980s.[4] The Destination Center also includes the largest waterpark in the state, three restaurants, a "boutique" casino, and an arcade.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Article about 2002 Cher concert - Dakota Student
- ^ Haga, Chuck. "Democratic presidential hopefuls bring close contest to N.D.", Grand Forks Herald, Grand Forks, North Dakota: Forum Communications Corp, 2008-04-05. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
- ^ Canad Inns Destination Center information - canadinns.com
- ^ Information about height of Canad Inns tower - emporis.com
[edit] External links
- Alerus Center is at coordinates Coordinates:
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