Iowa Events Center
Encyclopedia
The Iowa Events Center is a public events complex located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa
.
, the existing Polk County Convention Complex, the new Hy-Vee Hall, and the new Wells Fargo Arena
. The new buildings were designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport Venue Event), who were also the architects of the renovated Principal Park
in Des Moines, the United Center
in Chicago, and many other arena
s and stadium
s in the United States
. The project cost $217 million, making this the largest public project in Iowa
history. Funding for the project came from Polk County
and its cities, private donations, and the Vision Iowa Fund that Gov. Tom Vilsack
signed into law in 2000. Gambling profits from the Prairie Meadows
casino in nearby Altoona
are expected to pay off the debt.
Construction began in early 2002 after Polk County reached a project-labor agreement with local labor unions that guaranteed favorable wages and working conditions in exchange for no work stoppages. Polk County was soon sued by right to work
supporters who claimed that the use of a project-labor agreement on a public project violated Iowa's right to work laws. The lawsuit halted construction for several months, but on November 14, 2002, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in Polk County's favor.
On April 22, 2004, Polk County agreed to transfer management of the Iowa Events Center to Global Spectrum, a Comcast
subsidiary, of Philadelphia
. Global Spectrum soon announced that the new Iowa Stars
hockey team would be the center's primary tenant. In September 2004, Global Spectrum announced that ticket purchases will be done through Patron Solutions, another Comcast subsidiary, instead of Ticketmaster
.
Named for title sponsor Wells Fargo
Financial Services, Wells Fargo Arena has been the Des Moines area's primary venue for sporting events and concerts since it opened on July 12, 2005. The state high school wrestling and basketball tournaments have been held there since 2006. In fall 2007 it became home to the Iowa Energy
of the NBA Development League
. The following spring, the reactivated Iowa Barnstormers arena football
began playing at the Wells Fargo Arena. Wells Fargo Arena seats 15,181 for hockey games, 16,110 for basketball games, and as many as 16,980 for concerts.
supermarket chain owns the naming rights
to, is the Iowa Events Center's new exhibition hall. It features 100,000 square feet (9,000 m²) of space for trade shows, conventions, and other major events. It also features eight meeting rooms with a total of 15,000 square feet (1,400 m²) of meeting space. The south end of Hy-Vee Hall houses the Iowa Hall of Pride, which honors the achievements of Iowa high school athletes and performers.
Although it was still incomplete, Hy-Vee Hall hosted its first event, the Autumn Festival, from October 21 through October 23, 2004. It was formally dedicated on December 15, 2004, while the Iowa Hall of Pride opened to the public on February 23, 2005.
Named to honor the World War II
veterans of Polk County, the 7,227-seat Veterans Memorial Auditorium opened on February 1, 1955. It previously served as the home for the Iowa Barnstormers
arena football
team from 1995-2000 (AFL) and 2001 (af2), and it was also the longtime home of the Iowa State high school
basketball
and wrestling
tournaments until 2005. Vets continues to be used for smaller arena events and exhibitions after the opening of Wells Fargo Arena.
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
.
Overview
The Iowa Events Center consists of the existing Veterans Memorial AuditoriumVeterans Memorial Auditorium (Des Moines)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium is an arena in Des Moines, Iowa, that is part of the Iowa Events Center complex. It opened on February 1, 1955, and was named to honor the World War II veterans of Polk County. It has 7,227 permanent seats, with the capacity to add an additional 4,000 seats for concerts...
, the existing Polk County Convention Complex, the new Hy-Vee Hall, and the new Wells Fargo Arena
Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines)
Wells Fargo Arena is a 16,980-seat multi-purpose arena in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. Part of the Iowa Events Center, the arena opened in 2005, at a cost of $99 million....
. The new buildings were designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport Venue Event), who were also the architects of the renovated Principal Park
Principal Park
Principal Park, formerly Sec Taylor Stadium, is a minor league baseball stadium located in Des Moines, Iowa. It is the home field of the Pacific Coast League's Iowa Cubs....
in Des Moines, the United Center
United Center
The United Center is an indoor sports arena located in Chicago. It is named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League...
in Chicago, and many other 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...
s and stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
s in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The project cost $217 million, making this the largest public project in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
history. Funding for the project came from Polk County
Polk County, Iowa
Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 430,640 in the 2010 census, an increase from 374,601 in the 2000 census. The county seat is Des Moines, which is also the capital city of Iowa...
and its cities, private donations, and the Vision Iowa Fund that Gov. Tom Vilsack
Tom Vilsack
Thomas James "Tom" Vilsack is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and presently the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He served as the 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002...
signed into law in 2000. Gambling profits from the Prairie Meadows
Prairie Meadows
Prairie Meadows is a Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racetrack and racino in Altoona, Iowa.-History and information:In 1984, Prairie Meadows received a license from the Iowa Racing and Gaming commission to operate a horse racing facility after parimutuel betting was legalized by the state the...
casino in nearby Altoona
Altoona, Iowa
Altoona is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States and is a part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,583 at the 2010 census; a special census taken in August 2005 counted 13,301 residents....
are expected to pay off the debt.
Construction began in early 2002 after Polk County reached a project-labor agreement with local labor unions that guaranteed favorable wages and working conditions in exchange for no work stoppages. Polk County was soon sued by right to work
Right to work
The right to work is the concept that people have a human right to work, or engage in productive employment, and may not be prevented from doing so...
supporters who claimed that the use of a project-labor agreement on a public project violated Iowa's right to work laws. The lawsuit halted construction for several months, but on November 14, 2002, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in Polk County's favor.
On April 22, 2004, Polk County agreed to transfer management of the Iowa Events Center to Global Spectrum, a Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
subsidiary, of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. Global Spectrum soon announced that the new Iowa Stars
Iowa Stars
The Iowa Chops were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The club was based in Des Moines, Iowa at the Wells Fargo Arena.-History:...
hockey team would be the center's primary tenant. In September 2004, Global Spectrum announced that ticket purchases will be done through Patron Solutions, another Comcast subsidiary, instead of Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is an independent American ticket sales and distribution company based in West Hollywood, California, USA, with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010 it merged with Live Nation to become Live Nation Entertainment...
.
Wells Fargo Arena
Named for title sponsor Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
Financial Services, Wells Fargo Arena has been the Des Moines area's primary venue for sporting events and concerts since it opened on July 12, 2005. The state high school wrestling and basketball tournaments have been held there since 2006. In fall 2007 it became home to the Iowa Energy
Iowa Energy
The Iowa Energy are a 2007-08 expansion team of the NBA Development League, of which they are the current defending champions. They play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena at Iowa Events Center....
of the NBA Development League
NBA Development League
The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001...
. The following spring, the reactivated Iowa Barnstormers arena football
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....
began playing at the Wells Fargo Arena. Wells Fargo Arena seats 15,181 for hockey games, 16,110 for basketball games, and as many as 16,980 for concerts.
Hy-Vee Hall
Hy-Vee Hall, which the Hy-VeeHy-Vee
Hy-Vee is an employee-owned chain of supermarkets located in the Midwestern United States. Over 100 of its supermarkets are located in Iowa, with additional stores in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and now Madison, Wisconsin...
supermarket chain owns the naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
to, is the Iowa Events Center's new exhibition hall. It features 100,000 square feet (9,000 m²) of space for trade shows, conventions, and other major events. It also features eight meeting rooms with a total of 15,000 square feet (1,400 m²) of meeting space. The south end of Hy-Vee Hall houses the Iowa Hall of Pride, which honors the achievements of Iowa high school athletes and performers.
Although it was still incomplete, Hy-Vee Hall hosted its first event, the Autumn Festival, from October 21 through October 23, 2004. It was formally dedicated on December 15, 2004, while the Iowa Hall of Pride opened to the public on February 23, 2005.
Veterans Memorial Auditorium
Named to honor the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veterans of Polk County, the 7,227-seat Veterans Memorial Auditorium opened on February 1, 1955. It previously served as the home for the Iowa Barnstormers
New York Dragons
The New York Dragons were an Arena Football League team based in the New York metropolitan area. The team was founded in as the original incarnation of the Iowa Barnstormers, and relocated to New York in . They played in New York until 2008, when the league folded...
arena football
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....
team from 1995-2000 (AFL) and 2001 (af2), and it was also the longtime home of the Iowa State high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
tournaments until 2005. Vets continues to be used for smaller arena events and exhibitions after the opening of Wells Fargo Arena.
Polk County Convention Complex
Formerly named "the Plex," the Polk County Convention Complex opened in 1985. It features 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²) of exhibition space on two levels and 27 meeting rooms. Polk County originally planned to close the Convention Complex when Hy-Vee Hall opened, but they decided to transfer management of the building to Global Spectrum in August 2004. While the Convention Complex is located south of the other buildings, Global Spectrum markets it as part of the Iowa Events Center.External links
- Iowa Events Center
- Iowa Hall of Pride
- Iowa Events Center photo gallery from AbsoluteDSM.com