Met Center

The Met Center was an

The arena also held entertainment-related shows, including the first performance of Sesame Street Live in September 1980.

History

The Met Center was considered to be one of the finest arenas in the NHL for many years. Among NHL players, the Met was known for its fast ice and good lighting. Players also had much praise for the locker rooms and training facilities. Fans gave the arena's sightlines very high marks as well. The Met never boasted fancy amenities, and had cramped concourses and very few frills compared to modern arenas (though some luxury suites were added in the 1980s). As a sports facility, it could best be described as utilitarian, a theme which repeated itself in most Minnesota sports facilities built before 1988 (such as Metropolitan Stadium and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome). Like the Metrodome, the Met Center was heavily utilized as a Minnesota sports venue, hosting various high school hockey and basketball events over the course of its lifetime. The North Stars turned down a chance to move to the new Target Center upon its opening in 1990 due to conflicting soft drink rights (the Met Center was served by Pepsi whereas the Target Center's pouring rights belonged to Coca-Cola).^[5][6][7]

After the North Stars moved to

For several years after the arena was demolished, the property served as an overflow lot for the Mall of America. In 2004, an IKEA store opened on the west end of the property, and the new American Boulevard was rerouted through the east end of the property. The remainder of the site is planned long-term to become the site of Mall of America Phase II, of which the IKEA would be an anchor store.

Notable events

• The only fatality in NHL history occurred at the Met Center on 13 January 1968 when
  Oakland Seals.^[9]
• Elvis Presley opens his 1971 tour of the USA on November 5, 1971 [1]
• 25th National Hockey League All-Star Game on January 25, 1972
• Led Zeppelin started its 10th North American tour at the Met Center, on 18 January 1975, after two dates of warming up in Europe the week before.
• Elvis performs his penultimate Twin Cities concert on October 17, 1976 [2]
• Filming location for Ice Castles
• 1981 Stanley Cup Finals
• 1991 Stanley Cup Finals
• Four Grateful Dead concerts
• Lovesexy Tour
  on September 14–15, 1988.
• Bad World Tour
  on May 4–6, 1988.
• Megadeth performed on 25 February 1988.
• Metallica performed on April 24, 1989, during their "Justice For All Tour."
• Ozzy Osbourne with Randy Rhoads performed on January 15, 1982.
• Jimi Hendrix performed the longest version of his hit "Red House" on 1 November 1968.
• Janet Jackson filmed the music video for "Black Cat" on April 5, 1990.^[10]
• Frank Sinatra performs his final Minnesota show just ahead of Super Bowl XXVI, January 24, 1992 [3]
• Filming location for the movie "The Mighty Ducks" featuring Emilio Estevez on February 29, 1992 [4]
• Filming location for the movie "Untamed Heart" featuring Marisa Tomei and Christian Slater on April 24, 1992 [5]

References