| Address | 143 W 4th St Saint Paul,MN 55102 |
|---|---|
| Location | Downtown Saint Paul |
| Owner | City of Saint Paul |
| Capacity | 16,000 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | January 1, 1973 (1973-01-01) |
| Closed | April 9, 1998 (1998-04-09) |
| Demolished | May 1998 |
| Construction cost | $19 million ($143 million in 2024 dollars[1]) |
| Tenants | |
| Minnesota Fighting Saints(WHA) (1973–77) Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament(MSHSL) (1976–98) Minnesota Moose(IHL) (1994–96) | |
TheSt. Paul Civic Center was anindoor arena located inSaint Paul, Minnesota. The arena opened in 1973 and was closed and demolished in 1998.[2] It once sat near theOrdway Music Theater and theRoy Wilkins Auditorium. TheXcel Energy Center was built on the former site of the arena.
The arena opened on January 1, 1973, and hadseating capacity of approximately 16,000 for hockey.[3] The arena could be expanded up to 17,800 for concerts and other non-sporting events. The Civic Center was the home of both iterations of theMinnesota Fighting Saints of theWHA—the first from 1973 to 1976 and the second from 1976 to 1977. Theboys' state high school hockey and basketball tournaments were also held at the Civic Center as well as three NCAAFrozen Four national ice hockey championships.[4] The arena was also the home ofVerne Gagne'sAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA).
The arena was unique in North America in that the hockey dasher boards were made of clearacrylic glass from the shelf all the way down to the ice. This was because the arena's seating configuration was round, and the closest seats between the blue lines were not flush against the boards.
Previously not an issue when dasher board advertising was rare, the clear boards made for better sightlines for most spectators seated between the blue lines, since the seating angles in the Civic Center were shallow. When theMinnesota Moose of theInternational Hockey League played their two seasons, they were replaced with standard white opaque boards to allow advertising.[5] The new boards were disadvantageous to the previous seating arrangements, and with the Moose's quick departure toWinnipeg, showed the arena was outdated for the state's most popular sport only 21 years after opening, much lessNational Hockey League standards.
On June 28, 1984,Bruce Springsteen and TheE Street Band, actressCourteney Cox and 200 extras filmed theBrian De Palma-directedmusic video for "Dancing in the Dark" at the arena, one day before Springsteen's 1984Born in the U.S.A. Tour formally opened at the arena.[6]
The song "I Bought a Headache" fromThe Replacements' albumSorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash is about regretting purchasing an $8.50 ticket to a rock concert that is so loud it makes his head hurt. Billy Joel recorded and released a live version of his song, "Streetlife Serenader". The song was recorded from a 1980 concert held at the arena.
| Preceded by | Host of the Frozen Four 1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Host of the Frozen Four 1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Host of the Frozen Four 1994 | Succeeded by |