The Lee & Rose Warner Coliseum is a 5,000-seat indoor

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 ...

Falcon Heights, Minnesota Falcon Heights is a suburb of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul and a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,369 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It became a village on Apri ...

, United States. Built in 1951 on the grounds of the

Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Also known by its slogan, "The Great Minnesota Get-Together", it is the largest state fair in the United States by average daily attendance and the second-largest state f ...

, the venue hosts indoor events of the fair such as livestock shows, dog shows,

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

and

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...

. During the fair, vendors selling merchandise such as

Western wear Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th century Wild West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of American frontier clothing, to the stylized garments ...

fill the concourse.

History

The original structure on the site, the St. Paul Hippodrome, was built in 1906 and housed an indoor ice rink from 1909 to 1942. The building fell into disrepair after being used as a military aircraft propeller plant during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The current structure was built in 1951 in an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style consistent with other fairgrounds buildings of the era. It continued to be known as the Hippodrome until 1975 when it was renamed Coliseum. The arena was renamed Lee & Rose Warner Coliseum in 2006. Lee Warner was Vice President of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society Board of Managers, which oversees the Minnesota State Fair, from 1919 to 1944. On October 6, 1962, President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

spoke at the arena to campaign for Democratic candidates in the upcoming congressional election. Air conditioning was added in 1975 which allowed for an ice rink in the arena. The coliseum then became popular in the winter months as a venue for high school and college

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, hosting up to five games per week through the 1980s. The University of St. Thomas men's hockey team played its home games at the coliseum from 1976 until 2003. With expensive repairs needed to the arena's ice-making equipment and decline in usage, the final hockey game was played there in 2014. The arena has also hosted professional sports, including the Minnesota Monsters, St. Paul Fighting Saints, and North Star Roller Derby.

Renovation

Following the 2024 State Fair, the arena is scheduled to undergo several improvements, including a new roof, better lighting and airflow. The renovations are set to cost an estimated $22 million and will be funded in part by a $2 increase to State Fair admission tickets.

Gallery

References

{{St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's ice hockey navbox Buildings and structures in Ramsey County, Minnesota Ice hockey venues in Minneapolis–Saint Paul Sports venues completed in 1951 1951 establishments in Minnesota Minnesota State Fair