Duluth Entertainment Convention Center
Encyclopedia
Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC), is a multi-purpose arena
and convention center
complex located in Duluth, Minnesota
. It has been home to the University of Minnesota Duluth
Bulldog hockey
team since 1966. The DECC is located on the waterfront near Duluth's famous Aerial Lift Bridge
.
portion of the complex houses a 190-by-85 foot hockey rink
with 5,333 seats, and six locker rooms, including the recently-remodeled $2 million locker room facility now used by the men and women Bulldog hockey teams.
The rink can be converted to allow the DECC Arena to host concerts, dinners, conventions
,and shows. The DECC was the site of the NCAA
I men's hockey championships in both 1968 and 1981, hosted the 2003 and 2008 Women's NCAA Division I Frozen Four. A spacious lobby, where ticket sales originate, separates the Arena from Symphony Hall. Symphony Hall seats 2,400 and plays host to concerts, symphonies, plays
, operas, high school and college graduation
s, and a variety of other activities.
seating. Pioneer Hall is also the home of the Duluth Curling
Club with eight curling rinks (can be expanded to provide up to 13 curling sheets for major events) and a lounge area. It is the largest curling venue in the United States, and has hosted two World Championships, the US Olympic
Trials, and numerous National events. The Duluth Curling Club is the second largest curling club in the United States
.
was added, which is the site of numerous social, business and entertainment events, and features the 26000 sq ft (2,415.5 m²). Lake Superior Ballroom
, the 12000 sq ft (1,114.8 m²). Harborside Ballroom, and 25 Meeting Rooms, an OMNIMAX
Theatre opened in the spring of 1996 and a 10-screen Movie theater
complex was added in 2005.
by 2,100 from the original DECC Arena and seats 6,600 for ice hockey and 8,500 for concerts. The expansion project also includec a new parking ramp and more space for conventions and concerts, which DECC director Dan Russell said will bring more events to the complex. Construction began in September (2008), and the AMSOIL Arena opened on December 30, 2010 for a Men's UMD hockey game against the University of North Dakota. The new arena was named AMSOIL
Arena.
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
and convention center
Convention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...
complex located in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
. It has been home to the University of Minnesota Duluth
University of Minnesota Duluth
The University of Minnesota Duluth is a regional branch of the University of Minnesota system located in Duluth, Minnesota, USA. As Duluth's public research university, UMD offers 13 bachelor's degrees in 74 majors, graduate programs in 24 different fields, a two-year program at the School of...
Bulldog hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team since 1966. The DECC is located on the waterfront near Duluth's famous Aerial Lift Bridge
Aerial Lift Bridge
The Aerial Lift Bridge is a major landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota. The span is a vertical lift bridge, which is rather uncommon, but it began life as an extremely rare transporter bridge—the first of just two such bridges ever constructed in the United States...
.
DECC Arena
The DECC Arena, originally called the Duluth Arena Auditorium, was built at a cost of $6.5 million, the arenaArena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
portion of the complex houses a 190-by-85 foot hockey rink
Hockey rink
An ice hockey rink is an ice rink that is specifically designed for ice hockey, a team sport. It is rectangular with rounded corners and surrounded by a wall approximately 40 inches high called the boards.- Name origins :...
with 5,333 seats, and six locker rooms, including the recently-remodeled $2 million locker room facility now used by the men and women Bulldog hockey teams.
The rink can be converted to allow the DECC Arena to host concerts, dinners, conventions
Convention (meeting)
A convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom...
,and shows. The DECC was the site of the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
I men's hockey championships in both 1968 and 1981, hosted the 2003 and 2008 Women's NCAA Division I Frozen Four. A spacious lobby, where ticket sales originate, separates the Arena from Symphony Hall. Symphony Hall seats 2,400 and plays host to concerts, symphonies, plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
, operas, high school and college graduation
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
s, and a variety of other activities.
Pioneer Hall
Pioneer Hall was added in 1976, and contains a hockey rink with smaller seating capability utilizing fold-out bleacherBleacher
Bleachers is an American term used to describe the raised, tiered rows of seats found at sports fields or at other spectator events...
seating. Pioneer Hall is also the home of the Duluth Curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
Club with eight curling rinks (can be expanded to provide up to 13 curling sheets for major events) and a lounge area. It is the largest curling venue in the United States, and has hosted two World Championships, the US Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
Trials, and numerous National events. The Duluth Curling Club is the second largest curling club in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Convention Center
In the mid 1990s a $30 million Convention centerConvention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...
was added, which is the site of numerous social, business and entertainment events, and features the 26000 sq ft (2,415.5 m²). Lake Superior Ballroom
Ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
, the 12000 sq ft (1,114.8 m²). Harborside Ballroom, and 25 Meeting Rooms, an OMNIMAX
Omnimax
Omnimax may refer to:* A variation of the IMAX film format that is projected on an angled dome* A shorthand expression for a deity that is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and/or omnibenevolent...
Theatre opened in the spring of 1996 and a 10-screen Movie theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
complex was added in 2005.
AMSOIL Arena
The 2008 Minnesota bonding bill included $38 million for the "DECC expansion project". The DECC expansion included a new multi-purpose arena for the UMD men’s and women’s ice hockey teams, The arena was an increase in seating capacitySeating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
by 2,100 from the original DECC Arena and seats 6,600 for ice hockey and 8,500 for concerts. The expansion project also includec a new parking ramp and more space for conventions and concerts, which DECC director Dan Russell said will bring more events to the complex. Construction began in September (2008), and the AMSOIL Arena opened on December 30, 2010 for a Men's UMD hockey game against the University of North Dakota. The new arena was named AMSOIL
Amsoil
AMSOIL Inc. is a corporation based in Superior, Wisconsin that primarily formulates and packages synthetic lubricants and filters. The company's advertising slogan is The First in Synthetics.-History:...
Arena.