AMSOIL Arena

AMSOIL Arena
AMSOIL Arena
AMSOIL Arena
Map
Address350 Harbor Drive
Duluth, MN 55802
OwnerDuluth Entertainment Convention Center
OperatorDuluth Entertainment Convention Center
Capacity6,726 (Hockey)[3]
9,264 (Concerts)[4]
Record attendance8,372
Surface85' x 200' (Ice)
Construction
Broke groundSeptember 2008
OpenedDecember 30, 2010
Construction cost$80 million
($112 million in 2023 dollars[1])
ArchitectPopulous (formerly HOK Sport)
SJA Architects
General contractorMortenson/Thor[2]
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 DECC 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 arena's attendance record was set on June 20, 2018, during a President Donald Trump rally, which drew 8,372 people.[8] The attendance record for a sporting event was set on January 25, 2020, when UMD men's hockey team lost to their rival, North Dakota, 2–3 in front of 7,711 fans.

  1. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ "AMSOIL Arena".
  3. ^ "AMSOIL Arena". Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  4. ^ Gustafson, C. "Amsoil Arena: Duluth's new hockey home". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  5. ^ Kuchera, Steve (May 11, 2010). "For $6 million, it's Amsoil Arena". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  6. ^ Hanson, Howie. "Naming rights for new Duluth arena; UMD names new chancellor". Star Tribune. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  7. ^ url=http://umdbulldogs.com/sports/2013/8/30/Amsoil-Arena.aspx?path=general
  8. ^ Slater, Brady (20 June 2018). "Trump playful in Duluth". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved 21 June 2018.