Met Center revisited: 30 years after the end of an era
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Thirty years ago on Friday, the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington was demolished.
Known to many as the Met Center, the historic building played host to many iconic events, from the Minnesota North Stars battling for the Stanley Cup twice to legendary music acts like Prince and Bruce Springsteen.
Here's a look back at some of the Met Center's most memorable moments and the day it came down.
Minnesota North Stars
In 1966, the NHL announced Minnesota North Stars as its latest expansion team. The conditions of the bid included the construction of a new arena that could hold 12,500 people, according to MNopedia, an online encyclopedia developed by the Minnesota Historical Society and its partners.
Walter Bush Jr., the founder of the North Stars, worked with eight other businessmen to organize a bid and offered the Metropolitan Sports Commission a plan for the Met Center.
The arena cost $6 million to build.
On Oct. 21, 1967, the Met Center hosted its inaugural event — the North Stars taking on the Oakland Seals. Minnesota would go on to win 3-1 in front of a crowd of 12,951, according to MNopedia.
Since the team played in the winter, officials with the arena would have tow trucks outside during games to jumpstart cars.
The Met Center was the first NHL arena to sell advertising space on the rink sideboards.
During the 26-year tenure, the team made Stanley Cup finals appearances — in 1981 against the New York Islanders and in 1991 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Minnesota lost on both occasions.
The arena would be home to the North Stars until 1993, when then-owner Norm Green moved the team to Dallas. Green cited poor attendance and a lack of public financing for improvements to the Met Center as reasons for moving the team.
The Minnesota Muskies, of the American Basketball Association, played one season at the Met Center.
Legendary entertainment
Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond and Frank Sinatra are just a few of the musical acts to play at the Met Center.
Minnesota's own Prince would play at the Met Center in 1982, 1983 and two times in 1988, according to concertarchives.org.
Bruce Springsteen played two concerts at the Met Center in 1988 as part of his Tunnel of Love Express Tour.
Neil Diamond performed four concerts at the beloved arena in 1987, according to MNopedia. Over 70,000 tickets were sold for the concerts.
On Jan. 24, 1992, Frank Sinatra performed his final Minnesota concert at the Met Center.
Other well-known artists including Led Zepplin, Fleetwood Mac, Sergio Mendes and LL Cool J also played at the arena before it was demolished.
Demolition day
On a cold day in Dec. 13, 1994, Minnesotans gathered at a safe distance from the arena to watch it be torn down via controlled implosions.
"I think it's a terrible day," former North Stars player Lou Nanne said. "It's had a lot of great attractions here in the Twin Cities area and for the state of Minnesota, a lot of wonderful memories."
As the Met Center crumbled, many in attendance stood in shock while others shed tears.
The arena was unable to find a tenant after Green moved the North Stars to Dallas, and sat unused until it was demolished.
New beginnings
Six years after the demolition of the Met Center, the NHL announced professional hockey would be coming back to Minnesota in the form of the Minnesota Wild. The Xcel Energy Center would be built in St. Paul, where the Wild have played for over two decades.
In 2004, IKEA would open a store at the former site of the Met Center.