Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) is a multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

and

convention center A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...

complex located in

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

. It was home to the

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the University of Minnesota System. UMD offers 17 bachelor's degrees in 87 majors, graduate programs in 24 different fields, a tw ...

Bulldogs men's

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

team from 1966-2010. The DECC is located on the waterfront near Duluth's famous

Aerial Lift Bridge The Aerial Lift Bridge, earlier known as the Aerial Bridge or Aerial Ferry Bridge, is a landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota. The span began life in 1905 as the United States' first transporter bridge: Only one other was ever construc ...

DECC Arena

History

The DECC Arena, originally called the Duluth Arena Auditorium, was built at a cost of $6.5 million, the

portion of the complex houses a 190-by-85 foot

hockey rink An ice hockey rink is an ice rink that is specifically designed for ice hockey, a competitive team sport. Alternatively it is used for other sports such as broomball, ringette, rinkball, and rink bandy. It is a rectangle with rounded corners an ...

with 5,333 seats, and six

locker room A locker is a small, usually narrow storage compartment. They are commonly found in dedicated cabinets, very often in large numbers, in various public places such as Changing room, locker rooms, workplaces, schools, transport hubs and the like ...

s, 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 A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

, dinners,

conventions Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law ** Convention (political norm), uncodified legal or political tradition * Convention (meeting) ...

, and shows. A spacious lobby, where ticket sales originate, separates the Arena from Symphony Hall.

Sports

The DECC was the site of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

I men's hockey championships in both 1968 and 1981, hosted the 2003 and 2008 Women's

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...

. The DECC Arena hosted the Duluth-Superior Lumberjacks, an indoor football team, from 1999–2000 and currently host the

Duluth Harbor Monsters The Duluth Harbor Monsters are a professional Arena football team based in Duluth, Minnesota. They were announced as one of the four inaugural teams of The Arena League (TAL) on April 5, 2023. This is the second professional arena/indoor footbal ...

The Arena League The Arena League (The AL or TAL) is an indoor American football league in the United States. The league launched in 2024 with four teams playing six-on-six football, but expanded to six-teams and started playing regular 7-on-7 indoor football i ...

, which began play in 2024.

Symphony Hall

Symphony Hall is an auditorium that seats 2,400 and plays host to

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

operas Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a li ...

, high school and college

graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

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

bleacher Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...

seating. Pioneer Hall is also the home of the Duluth

Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

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 or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

Trials, and numerous National events. The Duluth Curling Club is the second largest curling club in the United States.

Convention center

Paulucci Hall, located beneath the lobby and built with the original Duluth Arena Auditorium in 1966, hosts numerous events. exhibits, expos, and social functions. Originally named Exhibition Hall, the space was dedicated to

Jeno Paulucci Luigino "Jeno" Francesco Paulucci (July 5, 1918 – November 24, 2011) was an American food industry magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Paulucci started over 70 companies; his most well-known ventures included the frozen food company Bel ...

on April 24, 1967. In the mid-1990s a $30 million

was added, which is the site of numerous social, business and entertainment events, and features the Lake Superior

Ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

, the Harborside Ballroom, and 25 Meeting Rooms.

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 A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...

ice hockey teams, The arena was an increase in

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

by 2,100 from the original DECC Arena and seats 6,600 for ice hockey and 8,500 for concerts. The expansion project also included 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 University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

. The new arena was named

AMSOIL AMSOIL Inc. is an American corporation based in Superior, Wisconsin that primarily formulates and packages synthetic lubricants, fuel additives, and filters. Company founder Albert J. Amatuzio developed several synthetic motor oil formulations th ...

Arena.http://arena.decc.org/resources/pdfs/DECC-AMSOIL-Arena-Announcement.pdf

References

External links

Duluth Entertainment Convention Center websiteBulldogs in the NHL
{{Coord, 46, 46, 53, N, 92, 05, 53, W, type:landmark_region:US-MN, display=title College ice hockey venues in the United States Sports venues in Minnesota Convention centers in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Duluth, Minnesota Tourist attractions in Duluth, Minnesota Ice hockey venues in Minnesota 1966 establishments in Minnesota Curling in Minnesota Sports venues in the Duluth–Superior metropolitan area American football venues in Minnesota