St. Paul Civic Center

History

The arena opened on January 1, 1973, and had seating capacity of approximately 16,000 for hockey. 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 the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA—the first from 1973 to 1976 and the second from 1976 to 1977. The boys' state high school hockey and basketball tournaments were also held at the Civic Center as well as three NCAA men's Frozen Four national ice hockey championships. The arena was also the home of Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association (AWA).

The arena was unique in North America in that the hockey dasher boards were made of clear acrylic 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 the Minnesota Moose of the International Hockey League played their two seasons, they were replaced with standard white opaque boards to allow advertising. The new boards were disadvantageous to the previous seating arrangements, and with the Moose's quick departure to Winnipeg, showed the arena was outdated for the state's most popular sport only 21 years after opening, much less National Hockey League standards.

Popular culture

On June 28, 1984, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, actress Courteney Cox and 200 extras filmed the Brian De Palma-directed music video for "Dancing in the Dark" at the arena, one day before Springsteen's 1984 Born in the U.S.A. Tour formally opened at the arena.

The song "I Bought a Headache" from The Replacements' album Sorry 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.

Noted performers

• ABBA
• Aerosmith
• Alice Cooper
• Bad Company
• Barry Manilow
• Bee Gees
• Billy Joel
• Billy Squier
• Blue Öyster Cult
• Bob Dylan
• Bob Segar
• Boston
• Bruce Springsteen
• The Clash
• David Bowie
• Debbie Gibson
• Dinosaur Jr.
• The Doobie Brothers
• Duran Duran
• Electric Light Orchestra
• Elton John
• Elvis Presley
• Eric Clapton
• Frank Zappa
• Foghat
• Foreigner
• Grateful Dead
• The Guess Who
• The Jackson 5
• Jethro Tull
• John Denver
• Journey
• Judas Priest
• The Kinks
• Kiss
• Led Zeppelin
• Luciano Pavarotti
• Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Mason Proffit
• Madonna
• Neil Young
• Peter Frampton
• Phish
• Prince
• Queen
• The Ramones
• The Rolling Stones
• Rush
• Santana
• Stevie Wonder
• Styx
• Ted Nugent
• Tim McGraw
• Tina Turner
• U2
• Van Halen
• The Who
• Wings
• Yes
• ZZ Top

References

men's Frozen Four Lake Placid, New York Detroit, Michigan men's Frozen Four Detroit Albany, New York men's Frozen Four Milwaukee Providence, Rhode Island

References

1. . (March 26, 1998). ["Fond farewell to St. Paul Civic Center"](https://www.postbulletin.com/fond-farewell-to-st-paul-civic-center/article_7152b0ac-4180-54b6-a5c3-6a981f14ea12.html).
2. . (October 1997). ["Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums"](https://books.google.com/books?id=K-OuDxhiXkoC&q=%22St.%20Paul%20Civic%20Center%22&pg=PA233). *[[Brookings Institution]]*.
3. . (March 23, 2013). ["WCHA ANNOUNCES PLAYOFF CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE PLAYED IN GRAND RAPIDS IN 2014 & 2016, SAINT PAUL IN 2015 & 2017"](http://wcha.com/men/pres1213/201303/mar23wpmp.php). *[[Western Collegiate Hockey Association]]*.
4. . (October 7, 1994). ["Changes at Civic Center"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22388410/st_paul_civic_center_clear_boards/). *[[Star Tribune]]*.
5. (September 27, 2016). "In new memoir, Springsteen recalls opening Born in USA Tour in St. Paul".