AMSOIL Arena

AMSOIL Arena

Location	350 Harbor Drive Duluth, Minnesota 55802
Owner	Duluth Entertainment Convention Center
Operator	Duluth Entertainment Convention Center
Capacity	6,726 (Hockey)[1] 9,264 (Concerts)[2]
Record attendance	7,569
Surface	85' x 200' (Ice)
Construction
Broke ground	September 2008
Opened	December 30, 2010
Construction cost	$80 million ($87.9 million in 2016 dollars[3])
Architect	Populous (formerly HOK Sport) SJA Architects
General contractor	Mortenson/Thor[4]
Tenants
UMD Bulldogs men's hockey (NCHC) (2010–present) UMD Bulldogs women's hockey (WCHA) (2011–present)
Website
decc.org/venue/amsoil-arena/

AMSOIL Arena is a multipurpose arena in Duluth, Minnesota, home to the UMD Men's and UMD Women's hockey teams. It opened in 2010, replacing the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Arena on the waterfront near Duluth's landmark Aerial Lift Bridge.

Naming rights for 20 years were purchased by AMSOIL, a corporation based in Superior, Wisconsin, for $6 million, one-third up front.^[5][6]

The facility cost nearly $80 million; about half ($38 million) paid by the State of Minnesota through a 2008 bond bill, another 27% (about $21.6 million) by a voter-approved city food-and-beverage tax increase, 12% (about $9.6 million) by UMD , and the last 11% (about $8.8 million) by the DECC. Construction ran from September 2008 to December 2010, and included a 475-space parking garage with a skywalk connecting it to the arena.^[7]

The first event held at the arena was on December 30, 2010. UMD men's hockey team lost 0-5 to North Dakota before a crowd of 6,764, tied for the team's highest home attendance that season.

In their first season in the arena, the UMD men's hockey team won the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship. In 2012, the arena hosted the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Tournament, in which Minnesota beat Wisconsin, 4-2.

The attendance record of 7,569 was set on October 17, 2015, when UMD men's hockey team defeated their rival, Minnesota, 3-0.^[8]

Comparison to DECC Arena

Arena Usage

Hockey

AMSOIL Arena is primarily used as a hockey arena home to the University of Minnesota-Duluth's men's and women's hockey teams. The arena hosted the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Other hockey events include preseason practices for the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild-open to the public, Minnesota State High School League section 7A and 7AA tournament games, as well as a high-school all-star game.

Events

AMSOIL Arena has held many different types of events, from comedian Jeff Dunham to Cirque du Soleil. The local AAD Shrine holds its annual AAD Shrine Circus fundraiser at the arena each April.^[9] The arena also hosts concerts. The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra had the first non-sporting event held at the arena, "Cirque de la Symphonie on Ice", on December 31, 2010, a day after the facility opened. It can also be converted to host dinners and conventions.

Concerts

Basketball

AMSOIL Arena hosted the Harlem Globetrotters in 2012, 2014, and 2016, for which Minnesota Lynx's (WNBA) court was brought up from Minneapolis, Minnesota. AMSOIL Arena is scheduled to host the Globetrotters again on April 13, 2017.

Globetrotters Basketball Game on April 1, 2011

Awards

In 2013, Stadium Journey rated AMSOIL Arena as the best stadium experience in the United States and Canada.^[16] In 2014 and 2015, Stadium Journey rated AMSOIL Arena as the second best stadium experience in the United States and Canada, behind Oriole Park at Camden Yards home to Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles.^[17][18]

AMSOIL Arena was ranked the best college hockey arena by Stadium Journey in 2014 and 2015.^[19][20]

The Wall Street Journal named AMSOIL Arena one of its 10 "Golden Zamboni" winners for its uniqueness among the nation's college hockey venues.

References

Coordinates: 46°46′53″N 92°05′53″W / 46.78139°N 92.09806°W / 46.78139; -92.09806

Duluth Entertainment Convention Center#AMSOIL Arena