SPORTS CENTRAL
No matter what your team sport, Minneapolis Saint Paul
has facilities at the ready for your next competition.
For more than a decade, Minnesota and
the Twin Cities area specifically have
been called out nationally for being one of
the most livable and healthy areas in the
country. We embrace our four seasons,
celebrating the outdoors all year long by
biking, running, skiing, hiking and golfing. So, naturally, amateur sports teams
from all around choose Minneapolis Saint
Paul as a place to bring their events.
Our sports history surpasses our
state’s history even. The University of
Minnesota, which was founded in 1851,
seven years before Minnesota became a
state, brought with it the start of collegiate
athletics. The university offers a high-quality athletic program complete with
Big 10 basketball, hockey and football as
well as other competitive sports like volleyball, swimming and track. With these
sports offerings, you get prime venues
like William’s Arena, the Sports Pavilion
and the new TCF Bank Stadium. These
arenas are open for sporting events from
around the world and even offer meeting
and event facilities within easy access.
Minneapolis Saint Paul is one of the
only metro areas in the country to have
all major professional sports teams represented, but we also top other areas in
the number of lakes, hockey rinks and
golf courses we have. And with 22 scenic
byways in the state, plus the Mississippi
River winding through both downtowns,
Lake Calhoun
we also have more paved trails than any
other state. Those trails come in handy for
great outdoor events like the Twin Cities
Marathon, the Iron Girl Duathlon and
the Nature Valley Grand Prix bike race.
What does this mean for sports planners? The Twin Cities knows how to
play host to your events. We’ve done
it before with the Super Bowl, World
Series, PGA Championship, NCAA
Final Four and the U.S. Figure Skating
Championship. Plus, we’re a community that gives back, so our citizens come
out in droves to lend a hand. Grab your
team, coach and fans and take to the
field, court, water or ice.
National Sports Center
DID YOU KNOW?
• In 2008, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson led the league in rushing—and broke a team record—with 1,760 yards.
• The Metrodome is the only stadium to host the Super Bowl, MLB All-Star Game, World Series and NCAA Final Four.
• The Xcel Energy Center has been nominated for Arena of the Year seven times in its lifetime.
• The Minnesota Twins were the first baseball team to be named after a state.
• Proving Minnesota is the “State of Hockey,” the Wild have played in front of sold-out home crowds since the franchise began.
• TCF Bank Stadium features the second largest videoboard in all of college football, measuring 48 feet high by 108 feet wide.
PHO TOS TOP B Y TODD BUCHANAN; BOT TOM COUR TESY OF THE NATIONAL SPOR TS CEN TER
